


The Beginning

by Tygermane



Series: The Spring Soldier [1]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Timelines, Bucky Barnes Feels, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Bucky Barnes Recovering, Bucky Barnes Remembers, Bucky escapes HYDRA, Canon Divergence - Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Eventual Fluff, Eventual Romance, Eventual Sex, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff, Hydra, Mutant Reader, Non-Canon Relationship, Not Canon Compliant, Post-Captain America: The First Avenger, Pre-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Pre-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Pre-Civil War (Marvel), Protective Bucky Barnes, Reader-Insert, Reader-Interactive, Romance, Slow Burn, Smut, Winter Soldier Bucky Barnes, sort of slow burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-16
Updated: 2018-01-07
Packaged: 2018-09-08 22:08:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 37,549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8865283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tygermane/pseuds/Tygermane
Summary: *Update: 8/20/18* This fic is in hiatus right now, but rest assured, I do plan on finishing it!!!A Winter Soldier/Reader AU Fan-fic.Takes place after Captain America: TFA, but before the first Avengers movieReader is a mutant, who has been hiding her abilities since they manifested, she’s never told anyone, not even her parents. She was too afraid they would turn on her or register her and she’d be taken away. She’s a veterinarian living alone on her farm. Both her parents are dead, having left the farm to her. She lives in a small rural town outside New York City.One night, she hears gun shots and assumes it’s poachers she knows she won’t find anything if she goes out during the night and also risks the poachers turning on her, so she waits til morning, to see if she can find the potentially injured animal. She goes into the barn, having followed her cat and finds an unconscious and injured Winter Soldier. Having a soft spot for injured strays, she decides to help him.When he does finally wake, everything changes and her secret is exposed. She never expected her life to go in such a drastic direction, but, now that she’s on this path, she’s determined to travel it with him.





	1. First Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoy, I've had this idea in my head for a long time and so happy to finally be writing it down.
> 
> If you ever find any inconsistencies or or loop holes or anything I may have forgotten to address and clear up, please don't be afraid to let me know. I sadly have no one I can ask to Beta-Read my stories for me. So, yea, if you see something that needs clarification, a spelling/grammar error I missed, please, don't be afraid to tell me in the comments or in a private message.
> 
> Thank you & enjoy!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the reader finds an unconscious man in her barn after hearing gunshots the night before. What she thought were poachers hunting a wild animal, turned out to be some very bad people, hunting another human.
> 
> This is the reader's first interaction with the man they call The Winter Soldier, but she doesn't know that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *EDIT* 12/21/17 I went through and did a little editing of this chapter. Not a whole lot, but just a little.

She had heard the gunshots and the dogs late last night, which she assumed were from poachers. She knew there was no point in going out to find them, so, instead, she got up early to find the animal that more than likely got away. Hopefully she'd be able to find it and nurse it back to health, before releasing it. Worst case scenario, the animal had gotten away and been so wounded, it had died during the night, she hoped that wasn't the case. 

While walking to her barn, her cat walked up to her, weaving between her legs. He always greeted her whenever she came outside. He was another animal she had rescued, he had been hit by a car and she found him on her way home one evening. She brought him back, fixed him up and he hasn't left since.

Who is she, you ask, her name is ___ ___, a veterinarian living in the rural area near Long Island, New York. She had a private practice on her farm there, she saw a few animals at her home, more often than not, she made house calls for the animals that were too large to be brought in. It was something she loved and had wanted to do her entire life. When her Father died from a heart attack, she moved back in to help her mother who had had a stroke a few months before. Her mother's health quickly began to decline and she died a few months later. Now, it was just her, alone on her farm and she wouldn't have it any other way. Of course, that didn't stop some of the local busy bodies in town, from trying their hardest to set her up with their sons and nephews. They just couldn't understand how such a young woman would be happy living alone without a man to help her.

Of course, there were other reasons as to why she preferred to stay single. She was what they called, a mutant. She was one of the lucky ones, though, her mutant power wasn't obvious, so as far as anyone knew, she was a normal human. She had even kept the secret from her parents, she knew that if they found out, they'd send her to one of the mutant camps to have her “cured”. She rather liked her power, it allowed her a lot of freedom. She was one of the mutants blessed with the gift of wings, but her wings weren't like the others. They weren't always exposed, she was able to absorb them into her body, the downfall to that, the mass of her wings had to go somewhere, so it would be distributed through her body as excess fat cells, which made her a little on the hefty side. There were many nights, when she couldn't sleep, on those nights, she would just fly around instead. She would fly to clear her head, to help her stop thinking about how her life hadn't gone the way she had thought.

Like now, here she was, out in the snow, getting ready to find the animal some poachers had been hunting last night. She followed her cat, who she had named, Lucky, not the most original, but he was lucky she had come across him, otherwise he wouldn't be here to greet her every time she came outside.

“Hey, Lucky, you're awfully affectionate this morning.” She smiled, bending down to pick him up. He nuzzled against her face, always happy to see her, he let out a small meow, then squirmed out of her arms and ran into the barn.

“What's wrong, Lucky? You're usually a little more affectionate than that.” She asked, following the black and white cat into the barn.

When she opened the door, Lucky was standing there, waiting for her, he let out another cry and ran further into the barn, towards the back door.

“Lucky, what are you doing?” She asked, continuing to follow her cat.

She stopped in her tracks when she saw where Lucky had stopped. He was sitting on the lap of a man. A very injured man.

“Oh, shit! Mister, hey mister! Are you ok?” She asked running over and kneeling next to the man who had managed to sit himself in the chair she left by the back door. She quickly grabbed his left arm to feel for a pulse, but it was cold and very firm. She pulled the glove off, gasping at the metal that was shinning back at her. Remembering she needed to know if he was still alive or not, she decided not to take the chance his other arm was also metal, she felt for a pulse on his neck. She found it. Faint, but it was there.

“I think we've found another Lucky.” She smiled down at her cat, who was still sitting in the man's lap.

“He doesn't look light. How am I going to get him into the house?” She asked, moving his hair out of his face, so she could get a better look at him.

“Handsome. Shit, I bet he's who the dogs were looking for last night. Whoever was looking for you, I sure hope you're the good guy.” She sighed, kneeling with her back towards him, pulling his arms over her shoulders, so she could carry him on her back.

It took all of her strength, but she managed to stand up with him on her back. Slowly, she made it into her house and to her bedroom on the first floor. Normally she would have given the guest one of the bedrooms on the second floor, but she knew she wouldn't be able to carry him all the way up the stairs.

Once she got the stranger situated in her bed, she took a minute to look him over. He was covered in blood, she assumed most of it was his. She went to her office where she kept all her veterinary supplies, grabbed a few things and headed back to her patient. She lay everything out on her dresser, the IV, needles, gloves, scissors, cotton swabs, iodine, and various other things she would use to clean him up. She was prepared to give him stitches, but once she got his shirt cut open and off, she found no open wounds, a few scratches and bruises, but nothing too serious.

“Wow, you really are one lucky guy. Got away with just a few scrapes and bruises.” She then looked at his metal arm and took it in her hand.

“I wonder if you were running from whoever did this to you? Don't worry, mister, you're safe from whoever wants to hurt you, here. What kind of monsters did this to a person?  
” She sighed, gently placing his metal arm back on the bed so she could begin cleaning the few open wounds he did have.

It didn't take her long to clean him up and get him all set up with an IV, she figured he was dehydrated and since she wasn't sure how long he would be out, she didn't want to take the chance of his recovery not going as fast as it could because he wasn't getting the nutrients his body needed.

Now that he was fully treated, she began to take off his shoes. While she was looking up at him, she noticed a hole in his pants, it was wet, with what she assumed, was blood. Looking up at Lucky, who was laying on the man's chest, watching her, she sighed and asked, “How did I not think to look at his legs for injuries. Mister, I'm really sorry about this, I'm not trying to be a perv or anything.” 

She got up and grabbed the scissors that she had set on the night stand next to the bed, then back to the bottom of his pants and began to cut them off. Lucky let out a little meow to remind her that he was watching.

“I know, don't worry, I'm not going to do anything. Damn, this is embarrassing!” She replied, thankful the man was out cold and couldn't see the inevitable blush that was forming. Sure, she had studied some human anatomy in school, but never on an actual person. There was a reason she became a vet instead of a doctor, besides trying to keep her mutant ability a secret, the thought of having to deal with naked people, made her extremely uncomfortable. More specifically, having to deal with partially naked men telling her about their ailments. Nope, animals would be much easier to deal with, no chance of embarrassment there, and no judgmental thoughts to worry about.

Once she finally managed to cut his pants away, that's where she saw it, there was a bullet hole in his leg. Sliding her hand under his leg, she felt for an exit wound, she didn't feel anything, which meant the bullet was still inside.

“Looks like I'm gonna have to dig that out. Lucky, don't let Lucky 2 get up.” She said deciding to give the stranger some kind of name. Running back to her office to get some foresnips to try and dig the bullet out. She wasn't gone long, Lucky was still lying on the man's chest, continuing to watch her.

“You know, we really should call him something other than mister or Lucky 2, how about we just call him Luke until he wakes up to tell us his real name?” She asked Lucky as she began to dig inside the wound for the bullet, Lucky just replied with a soft meow. As she was digging in his leg, he began to groan and squirm, she looked up, seeing the look of pain on his face, she felt bad, but there was nothing she could do about the pain. She could feel the bullet and didn't want to go back to the office to find the local anesthetic she had. It would take to long to wait for it to kick in, not to mention, she almost had the bullet out. He began to fidget his leg more, so she had to put part of her weight on it to finish pulling the bullet out.

“I'm really sorry, Luke, but the bullet is almost out. Just bear with me a little longer.” She grunted as she finally pulled the bullet out of the wound.

“There! Got it, now, let's stitch that bad boy closed.” She said, placing the bullet on a towel she had lying next to her on the floor. Once the bullet was out, Luke had calmed down and stopped moving, his breathing was slightly labored, but he seemed to be calming down. Looking back at the wound, she had a thought. “You know, maybe I should numb this first. Don't want to risk him waking up and freaking out on me.” So again, she got up and went find the cream of local anesthetic, she hoped it would numb the area just enough so she could get the stitches in without him squirming all over the place. If she was going to do the stitches right, she wanted him to be as still as possible.

“Ok, almost done!” She smiled at Lucky, who had jumped back on Luke's chest, he had jumped off when Luke started squirming while the bullet was being removed.

___ rubbed a fair amount of the cream into Luke's leg around the wound once she got it cleaned up and added a cauterizing agent so it would stop bleeding. She gave it about five minutes, before she started stitching the wound closed. Once closed, she wrapped his leg to prevent any infection from getting into it. She stood up and looked at her handy work, she was quite impressed with herself, especially considering she'd never done any kind of procedure on a human before. Then, realizing the man was half naked, she blushed again and turned away.

“Right, we need to get you some pants. I think I still have some of my dad's old sweats upstairs. They should fit well enough. Be right back, Lucky.” she said, leaving the room and making her way upstairs to her parents old room.

After their deaths a few years ago, she had decided to leave their room the way it was. She just couldn't bring herself to change it. Even though they were gone and she knew they were never coming back, it still brought comfort to her, knowing their room was still there, just as they had left it.

She stood in the doorway a few minutes, after opening the door, to look at the room. It had been a few months since she had last felt the need to enter. On the nights when she would have really bad nightmares, she would come in here and sleep. The room still smelled like her parents and she found it comforting when she would have nightmares, it was like they were still here, helping her.

She took a deep breath and walking into the room, straight to the dresser. She didn't have to look for long, since she knew where her father kept all his clothes. She used to help her mother put laundry away when she was still too small to help with the outside chores. Once she had a pair in her hand, she closed the drawer and walked to the door. She stopped and turned around, taking one last look before she closed the door and made her way back downstairs.

“You know, Lucky, maybe I should finally get around to changing mom and dad's bedroom. I've always wanted a library and I think mom and dad would like it if I turned their room into a library. What do you think?” She asked as she walked back into the room, looking at her cat, he just gave her a slow blink in response.

“Yea, you're right, maybe once spring rolls around, then we can consider turning it into a library.” She chuckled, as she struggled to put the pants on Luke. “Man, you're heavier than you look!” she grunted as she finally got them up to his waist. The she stood up and took a step back, looking over her work, smiling.

“That should do it for now. I'll be back in a few hours to check on you again.” She said, as she threw a blanket over him, covering Lucky, who didn't mind at all. He'd crawl out from underneath when he was ready. Now that he was all cleaned up and tucked in, she cleaned up the mess she had made, with everything in the bowl she brought in, she took one final look at the man, before shutting the door, leaving enough of a crack so Lucky could come and go as he pleased.

 

The next couple of days were quiet, she went about her daily routine, checking on Luke every few hours, changing his bandages as needed and cleaning up the mess from when he would urinate in his sleep. Now she was really wishing she had learned about catheters in school, but you usually didn't use them for animals, so she saw no need to keep any on hand. She made a note, that the next time she ordered supplies, she would definitely be ordering catheters. She doubted she would ever use them, but she'd rather have them on hand anyway.

 

It was early evening on the fourth day after she found Luke in her barn. She had come home from a particularly messy job and just finished her shower. Now that she was all clean, she made a fire, since it had started to snow and it was her main source of heat in the house. Once she had the fire going, she decided to cook dinner. She was reheating left over spaghetti. She had her favorite mix tape playing while she cooked, singing and dancing along with it. Completely oblivious to the movements that were happening in her bedroom.

Luke had woken up. He blinked a few times and looked around the room. This was definitely not a HYDRA installation. He sat up and cringed when he felt the pinch in his arm and pain in his leg. He looked at his arm first, seeing the IV, he quickly pulled it out. Though it didn't look like HYDRA, he wouldn't put it passed them to put him in a setting like this to test him, make sure he was loyal. He winced as he moved his leg, feeling the pain from the bullet he remembered being shot with. Even though he had been injected with the super soldier serum, it didn't do to much in helping him heal faster. It helped a little, but not as much as he would have liked.

As he tried to get up, he heard a meow, looking down next to his feet, there sat a black and white tabby. They starred at each other for a minute, before the cat got up and rubbed up against his legs. He smiled at the action and wondered what kind of HYDRA agent would have a cat as a pet. Then he noticed music coming from the other side of the cracked door. He slowly got up and did his best to limp over to the door, upon opening it, he was hit with something he wasn't sure if he had ever smelt before. Just what kind of HYDRA agent was this? They had a cat, listening to music and cooked their own food? His curiosity getting the better of him, he slowly and as quietly as he could, crept to where the music was coming from.

He was shocked when he saw her. She was definitely not an agent he had ever seen before. She was short in stature, with long (h/c) hair and a little on the chunky side. She was wearing an oversized t-shirt with shorts that came to mid-thigh and she was dancing and singing along to her music while she cooked. This was definitely not the normal behavior of a HYDRA agent, not to mention she would be considered unfit as an agent and would never be allowed in the field. Her guard was down and she was alone, this also went against all HYDRA protocol. Then he remembered how he had gotten injured. He had disobeyed a direct order during a mission and managed to get away. He remembered running through the forest and being chased, but the memory starts to get fuzzy after he was shot.

Though he doubted she was HYDRA, he couldn't be to sure and felt it best to keep his guard up. Lost in thought, he quickly looked up when she screamed and he heard glass shattering. His presence clearly startled her. Did she expect him to stay in bed after he woke up?

 

___ was definitely not expecting her patient to be up so soon. She thought he would have been out a few more days, so when she turned around and saw him standing in the doorway to her kitchen, she couldn't help but scream and drop her bowl of spaghetti, jumping back as the hot sauce hit her legs. She fell when her foot landed on a sharp piece of ceramic, falling on the food and shattered ceramic, getting a few more cuts as she tried to get up. He cautiously walked over to her and offered her his flesh hand. She looked up at it, then him and smiled.

“Sorry, you startled me. You'd been asleep for so long, I was beginning to think you weren't ever going to wake up.” She said, scooting back so her back hit the cabinet behind her. Once she had her uninjured foot stable and not on any sharp ceramic pieces, she took his hand and let him help her stand up.

“Thank you.” She said as she adjusted the weight on her good foot and placed booth hands on the counter behind her to help stabilize her. “How are you feeling?” she asked before limping over to her fridge and digging out the broom she kept in the space between the fridge and the wall. All Luke did was watch her, still certain this was a ruse to get him to drop his guard.

She stopped and looked at him, waiting for an answer, but all he did was stare back at her.

“You look better, that's for sure.” She still smiled as she hobbled back over the mess she had made, stopping to get something from under the sink, he tensed and was ready to attack, thinking she was getting a weapon of some kind, he relaxed a little when he saw her grab a dust pan and a towel.

“How's your leg? I did the best I could getting the bullet out and did a decent job on the stitches. You'll have a scar, but something tells me you don't really mind scars.” she said as she looked at his left shoulder, where metal met skin. He, too, looked at his bare shoulder, then back at her, wondering why she wasn't fazed by it at all. She had bent down and was picking up the large pieces of the ceramic bowl she had dropped.

“You can sit down, you know. I'll have this cleaned up in just a minute, then I can set up a bowl for you. I hope you like spaghetti.” She said, not even bothering to look up at him as she continued to clean up her mess. She did find it odd at how quiet he was. If she was in his shoes, she'd be asking all kinds of questions about where she was and who he was and what happened. She just figured he was still a little confused and disoriented from being unconscious for so long. She was sure he'd talk when he was ready.

She smiled a little when she heard the chair move and give a small creak when weight was added to it.

“My name's ___, by the way.”

He just looked at her quizzically and his brows furrowed. Was she expecting him to tell her his name in return?

“I didn't know your name, so I've been calling you Luke.” She said, sitting on her haunches and looking up at him.

“Luke?” He said, it didn't sound or feel familiar, so he was sure that wasn't his name. His concentration was broken by a small meow and something brushing up against his legs.

“And that's Lucky, he's the one who found you in my barn and he's been keeping watch over you while you slept. Only left to go to the bathroom and eat, otherwise, he was in the room with you the whole time. He doesn't usually take to strangers so quickly, but I'm glad he likes you.” She said with a small chuckle.

He groaned and clutched his head in pain, slamming his fist on the table as images of people quickly flashed in his mind, it was as if they were screaming to be remembered. ___ looked up at him, startled by the loud noise. Seeing the distress he was in, she quickly got up, forgetting about the pain in her own foot, and ran over to him, kneeling next to him. Her hand on one shoulder, while the other one ran through his hair, getting it out of his face so she could get a better look at him, trying to see if there was a wound she had missed that might be causing him pain now. She didn't see anything.

“Luke, are you ok? What's wrong?” She asked, her hand quickly moving down the side of his face, over his cheek and under his jaw, lifting it up to look at her.

Once the pain had gone and the images had stopped, he opened his eyes and looked straight into hers. They were full of nothing but concern. Not a look he was accustomed to seeing.

“I don't remember my name, but I know that's not it.” He opened his eyes when he heard her let out a small chuckle, the look of concern was gone and was replaced with a smile. Again, not something he was used to seeing on the people he worked for.

“I figured as much, but sadly, it's gonna have to do until you remember yours. Are you hungry?” she asked, standing up and limping over to the stove.

That's when he noticed the trail of blood her foot was leaving.

“You're bleeding.” He said, looking up at her. He watched as she turned to look at him, then at the floor, seeing the blood she left as she stepped.

“I guess I am. Well, let me make you a bowl, then I'll go patch my foot up and join you.” she said, returning to her original task of getting him something to eat. Once she set it down in front of him, she sat down as well, clearly forgetting about her foot again.

“It's been a few days since you've had anything solid in you. Make sure you eat slow, so you don't throw it up right away. You're stomach needs to get used to having solids in it. If this is too much for you to handle, I have some soup that I could heat up instead. I probably should have tried that first.” she mumbled the last part more to herself than to him.

He looked at her, still smiling at him. He was a little weary of the fact that she wasn't eating anything. It made him think she had put something in his food. Even though he watched everything she had done, and didn't see her add anything, he couldn't be too sure. She was a stranger and for all he knew, she wanted to kill him.

“Is it too hot? Should I heat up the soup instead?” She asked, worried as to why he wasn't eating.

She went to get up, but he stopped her by grabbing her wrist, looking at the contact, she sat back down and looked at him, that look of concern gracing her features once again.

“Why are you being so nice and helping me?” he asked, his grip on her wrist tightening, she winced at the increase in pressure.

“I don't know.” She replied, trying to pull her wrist out of his grasp, only causing him to hold it tighter.

“Did they order you to help me? Is this some kind of test?” He asked his voice harsher, his grip tightening still.

His eyes never left hers. He watched as they began to water. Watched for any indication she was HYDRA, that this was a test of loyalty, a test to see how he would react if he thought he wasn't being monitored, if he thought he had truly succeeded in escaping them. He watched as panic took over her features, as she struggled to free herself.

“Ow, you're hurting me! Let go!” She said, her voice laced with the first signs of panic and the look on her face quickly changing to that of fear. He watched as she tried to pry his hand off her wrist, but she was no match for his strength.

“Who are you working for!” He demanded as he practically yelled at her.

She could feel the panic as it began to bubble up to the surface. She knew that if she let it take over, she wouldn't be able to keep her wings hidden. The last thing she wanted to do was expose her secret to him, but the tighter his grip got and the angrier he looked, the harder and harder it was to keep the overwhelming feeling of panic under control. Then, when he yelled at her, demanding to know who she worked for, she lost it.

“I SAID, LET GO!” She screamed as wings exploded from her back.

Luke was bowled over and pushed across the floor by the wind that her wings created as they burst forth from her back, hitting the wall behind him. Eyes wide, he looked up to see the girl standing in front of him, her shirt barely hanging on to her shoulders, her shorts in tatters on the floor. She was panting and her eyes conveyed nothing but fear and panic as she crossed her arms over her chest, cradling the wrist he had been holding and also preventing her shirt from completely falling off and exposing all of her to the stranger laying on her kitchen floor.

That's when he knew. He knew there was no way she was a HYDRA agent. If she was, he would have heard about her, he would have gone on missions with her. He would know if HYDRA had an angel on their side.

Luke never took his eyes off her as he eased himself up into a sitting position. Leaning against the wall, letting it support him as he tried to process what had just happened. He let his eyes wander up and down, noticing how her appearance had changed. She was slimmer now, her face still held that look of panic and fear. He had seen that look many times in people before he killed them. She was afraid for her life.

“I'm sorry.” Luke said as he finally moved to stand up. Once he was stable, he went to take a step towards her, but she only limped back.

“I thought you were trying to hurt me.” He said as he bent over and set the chair he had been sitting in, up right, then sat in it. Trying his best to show her that he wasn't going to hurt her.

“Why would I fix you up, just to try to hurt you later?” she asked, after a few minutes of silence and once she was sure he wasn't going to try and hurt her again.

“Because that's the kind of thing the people I work for would do.” He answered, letting out a heavy sigh as he did.

“The people you work for are messed up.” She scoffed as she took a few hesitant steps towards one of the chairs sitting at the table.

“I know. It's ok, you can sit down. I'm not going to hurt you.” he said as he looked down at his metal arm. He really hated that arm.

“Are the people you work for the one's who gave you that arm?” she asked, finally sitting down in the chair. Luke just nodded.

“Are they also the one's who shot you? And the reason I found you passed out in my barn?” She asked, pulling the shirt up on her shoulder, as it had slid down a little when she walked to her chair.

Again, he just nodded.

“The people you work for really suck!” she huffed.

He couldn't help but give a small smile at her words, the smile quickly disappeared as he realized they would be looking for him. Which meant, she wasn't safe and if HYDRA found out about her and her ability, they would stop at nothing to have her.

“I should go, you're not safe if I stay.” He said with a scowl as he stood up.

“What! No, you can't go! You're not fully healed.” She almost yelled as she did her best to run towards him and grab his arm.

“It doesn't matter, as long as I'm here, you won't be safe.” he said, not bothering to turn around and look at her.

“I don't care who you work for! You're not leaving here until you're fully healed. Besides, I'm sure they would have found you and captured you by now if they were still looking for you.” She said, stepping so she was now in front of him and giving him a small smile as she blocked his way to the backdoor in her kitchen.

He really did want to stay. He couldn't remember anyone ever having been this caring towards him. It made him feel almost human.

“Come on, at least stay until that wound on your leg closes up. Then, once it's all better, you can leave if you want. Besides, it's snowing outside. How far do you think you're going to get, dressed like that.” She smirked, looking down at his sweatpants and bare feet.

He looked down, realizing she was right and sighed.

“You're right.”

“I know. Now come on, sit back down at the table and I'll heat your dinner back up.” She said, grabbing his hand and turning him so he was now facing the kitchen. He had almost forgot that she was hurt until he saw her limp to the table and grab the bowl she had made for him, then quickly looking away as it dawned on him that her backside was completely exposed, parts hidden because of her wings. He was fascinated by her wings, they were almost as long as she was tall and they reminded him of a Raven, the color a deep, glistening onyx. He wanted to touch them and see if they were as soft as they looked.

“Your foot.” He said, remembering her limp and forcing himself to not focus on her wings, as he was still standing there, now staring at the floor.

“Hmm, oh yea.” she said as she looked down to see how she was favoring the injured one.

“Guess I forgot with all the excitement. But, hey, at least it's stopped bleeding.” She joked as she walked to the microwave and put his bowl in.

“You should go take care of it. I can heat my dinner.” Luke said as he walked to where she was standing, he wasn't quite sure how to address her shredded clothing, Trying not to get to close, as her wings were a little intimidating.

“No, it's fine. What kind of host would I be, if I let you heat your own food?” she chuckled, then gasped and stood rigid as she felt a hand run across the edge her wing.

“They're beautiful.” Luke whispered, not able to contain his desire to touch them. Then, noticing her stiff reaction, he quickly removing his hand. “Sorry, I didn't mean to...”

“No, it's ok, it just surprised me, is all. No one's ever touched them, let alone seen them. You can touch them, again, you know, if you'd want to.” She said, almost in a whisper, relieved he couldn't see the heat that was spreading across her face. She opened the microwave door and gave his food a few stirs, before placing it back in the microwave for another minute.

“How did you get them?” Luke asked, allowing his flesh hand to reach back up and run along the edge, then over her soft feathers, he couldn't help but stare as he did. He didn't see that she had placed her hands on the counter, supporting herself as she went weak in the knees. She appreciated how gentle his touch was. Wanting him to touch more, she let her wings expand as much as they could in the kitchen. Understanding what she was asking, he brought his metallic hand up and ran it along the arm of her other wing, she hung her head forward as she let out a low moan. The sensation wasn't sexual in nature at all, it felt more like when someone lightly massaged aching muscles.

“I guess I was just born with them.” her voice light and airy after letting a few minutes of silence pass, before answering him, allowing herself to enjoy the sensation of his touch. It was a completely new experience, hands gently caressing her wings, she had no idea they would be so sensitive.

“What do you mean?” he asked, reluctantly pulling his hands away and letting them fall back to his sides. It took a moment for her to realize that he had removed his hands. Once she did, she took a few deep breaths, clearing her throat as she focused her attention back on heating up his food.

“I'm what they call a mutant. Mutant abilities don't usually manifest themselves until puberty. So, I didn't know until I was about fourteen. Um, can we talk about something else? I'm not very comfortable talking about them. Like I said, you're kind of the only person who's ever seen them.” she couldn't help but feel embarrassed at the pseudo-affectionate moment they had just shared

The microwave beeped, signaling it's job was done. ___ took out the bowl and stirred it a few more times, then turned to hand the bowl to Luke.

“It should be hot enough, if not, just pop it back in the microwave for another minute or so. I have to go take care of my foot.” she said, avoiding making eye contact with him, her voice still very quiet.

“I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry.” He said, taking the bowl from her.

“It's ok. Like I said, I've just never talked to anyone about it.” she turned to leave, but then stopped and added, “If you'd like something to drink, there's cups in the cupboard next to the fridge. I'll be back in a minute.” Then she limped out the door and headed to what he assumed was the bathroom. He watched her go, realizing her shirt had been shredded by the exposure of her wings. He also noticed the scars on her back, he assumed those were from when she drew out her wings and he couldn't help but wonder if the process was painful or not. Coming out of his thoughts, he stirred the contents of the bowl a few times, then set it down on the table before getting a cup and filling it with water. He felt bad for asking about such a sensitive subject, but he couldn't help himself.

 

Luke was washing his bowl and cup when she came back into the room. He noticed that her wings were gone, her mood seemed to be brighter and she was fully dressed.

“How was it?” she asked, sitting at the table across from where he had been, acting as if nothing had happened.

“Good, thank you.” he answered as he walked back to the table and sat down.

“I'm sorry about earlier.” She said, looking down at her hands that she played with nervously.

“It's ok, I'm the one that should be apologizing.” he said, watching her fidget.

“Let's just say we're both sorry and leave it at that.” She replied with a nervous smile, hoping he would drop the issue and they could talk about something else.

She was relieved when he nodded in agreement and let out a heavy sigh.

“So, where are you from?” She asked, trying her best at making small talk.

“I don't remember.” he replied, looking to the side.

“Then how do you remember who you work for?”

He let out a heavy sigh, deciding to take the chance and trust her. If she really was a HYDRA agent, the worst that would happen is he would be beaten and wiped before being put back in the cryo-freeze.

“Before you found me. The people I work for, after my missions are complete, freeze me until I'm needed for another mission. I have no idea who I was before or how old I am. They have a way of erasing my memories after every mission before I'm put back to sleep.”

___ listened in horror as he told her of the things he's remembered doing and the people he works for. She listened as he told her about the events that led up to her finding him. Once he was done talking he looked up to see her hand covering her mouth and tears falling down her chubby cheeks.

He was surprised by her reaction. The sorrow that was written across her face was not the look he was expecting to see when he looked at her. He expected to see disgust and disdain, not sorrow and sympathy.

“Oh Luke, that's absolutely horrible! No wonder you ran away.” She said, reaching her hand across the table and resting it on top of his flesh hand.

“I want you to know, you are welcome to stay here as long as you want. I will keep you as safe as I can, for as long as I can.” She gave him a gentle smile as she looked up at him.

“Thank you, but like I said before, they'll be looking for me, if they aren't already. If they find me here with you and they find out about your wings, they will take you.”

“Why don't you let me worry about that. Like I said, you can stay here as long as you want. I mean, I could use some help with some of the outside chores.” Her smile got a little bigger as she sat back in her chair. He couldn't help but give her a small smile back. The chance to do some normal tasks was very appealing and he couldn't help but smile at the thought of feeling somewhat like a normal human being.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I try to update as often as I can, but, if you want to know when the next chapter comes out, please subscribe to this story. It will save you from constantly having to come back and check ;)


	2. Let them be......... for now, at least.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A short chapter from HYDRA's POV. Mostly some filler :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's short and vague, but I wanted to give you all an idea as to why HYDRA wasn't persuing Bucky. Hope you enjoy!

They weren't sure what triggered it, but the Winter Soldier had stopped complying. Instead of following orders, he had turned on the team and began attacking them. Now, they were chasing him through the woods, needing to get him back before their situation was even more compromised.

The asset had managed to knock out or kill most of the team, leaving only five to hunt him down and try to detain him. The last thing they wanted was to have to kill him, but if they had to, they wouldn't hesitate. They had radioed back to command and were instructed to hunt him down and bring him back at all cost. There was a team with dogs on their way to help track him down. However, since it was snowing, they were all pretty sure the dogs would be useless.

“All right, pretty sure he's been wounded, so he won't be moving very fast. We don't have much time before the trail is gone, so fan out and find me that blood trail!” the commander said.

The four men did as they were told, but had no luck. They had been searching for over three hours before the team with the dogs showed up. It took another two hours before the dogs finally picked up the trail, it didn't take long before they lost it again and unfortunately for them, the dogs were unable to pick it back up. But, they at least had a general idea of which way he had gone now.

It took almost four days before they came across the small farm house. The commander decided to watch and wait for any sign of the asset. There wasn't much going on, just a woman working around the farm. When she left alone, the commander decided waiting around was a dead end. He decided to leave a soldier behind to keep an eye on the place, while the rest of them continued the search elsewhere. 

The soldier waited until nightfall to get closer to the small house. He didn't want to be stationed there any longer than he had to.

The light in the kitchen was on and he had seen movement, so he positioned himself to where he had a clear view inside, but he wouldn't be seen if anyone looked outside. He smiled as he watched the woman dance around her kitchen half naked and began to think about some very dirty things he'd like to do to her. His attention was peaked when he heard a muffled scream, he looked again to see that she had dropped something on the floor. He found it frustrating that he couldn't see what it was that had startled her.

He continued to watch, then he saw it, the asset. He had walked into the kitchen and sat down at the woman's table. He was about ready to radio it in, when something told him to wait and see what happens between them.

He saw everything! He was amazed when he saw wings burst forth from her back after the asset had grabbed her by the wrist and refused to let go. That's when he was glad he had waited to radio the location of the asset in. He knew, that if they could acquire her as well, he would be greatly rewarded. Hydra was always looking for anything that would give them any kind of advantage, it didn't matter how large or small. An advantage was an advantage.

It didn't take long for more HYDRA reinforcements to arrive. He was surprised when a few of the commanding officers and one of the lead scientists showed up.

“That's the girl there.” He said, pointing into the kitchen window. He had retreated back into the tree line to wait for the rest of the team.

“And you said she has wings?” The scientist asked, grabbing the binoculars from the soldier.

“Yes, sir. Somehow, she's able to hide them inside her body. When her wings are out, she's slimmer.”

“Fascinating! So, you're saying the excess body fat is actually her wings?”

“Yes, sir.” he nodded.

“Commander, I want to let them be for now. I want the asset to bond with her and she with him. They will make a better team that way. I want you to station a few soldiers in the town to keep an eye on them, make sure the asset stays with her. Then, when the time is right, we will take them both.”

“Sir, are you sure? What if he gets away and we can't find him?”

“Look at him commander, she has left him alone. It's the perfect time for him to leave without her stopping him, but he stays. No, we'll leave him here with her for now. I'm very curious to see how this experiment will go.”

“But, sir...” the commander starts, but is quickly cut off.

“You have your orders, commander. Leave him here and keep an eye on them.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I try to update as often as I can, but, if you want to know when the next chapter comes out, please subscribe to this story. It will save you from constantly having to come back and check ;)


	3. Helping is the least I can do.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fluff

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long to publish, I kinda forgot it was done.......

Over the next couple of weeks, as his body continued to heal itself, Luke did what he could to help ____. He found it relaxing and enjoyable to do the mundane, everyday chores she hated.

“How can you enjoy doing the dishes so much?” ___ asked as she walked into the kitchen.

He looked up at her, not even realizing he was smiling.

“I guess it makes me feel normal, kind of lets me forget who I am.” He said, looking back at the sink full of dishes.

“Then you can do the dishes anytime you want. I'd be happy to make some dirty just so you can wash them.” She smiled, as she grabbed a cup and opened the fridge to get something to drink.

Luke chuckled at her offer, “Thanks, I think.”

“Of course, what are friends for!”

At that, Luke stopped and looked at her as she took a drink of the orange juice she had poured herself. Seeing the look on his face, she asked, “What?”

“We're friends?” Luke asked hesitantly. ___ gave his question some thought and smiled.

“Of course we are! I don't patch up strangers for free, you know.” she said, giving him a wink as she put her dirty glass in the sink. Luke smiled and watched her as she got her coat and boots on to go back outside.

“When you're done, you can come keep me company out in the barn.” She hollered before opening the door and walking out.

Luke's smile quickly faded as he began to realize he had been in one place for too long. He was surprised HYDRA hadn't found him yet. Part of him still suspected that ___ was a secret HYDRA agent, but she didn't act like any agent he had encountered before. He decided to listen to the part of him that said she was just a civilian.

Wanting to know what she was doing outside, he decided to finish the dishes later. He put his boots on and grabbed the jacket she had found in her father's closet for him to use, putting it on, he quickly made his way to the barn, constantly scanning the area for any indication that HYDRA had found him. There was still no sign that he had been discovered, which made him very uneasy.

He quietly entered the barn, only stopping when Lucky had come running up to him and began weaving in and out of his legs. Picking the cat up, so he wouldn't trip over him, Luke walked over to where he heard what sounded like wood being chopped. He was surprised to see __ with an ax in her hand, splitting her own firewood.

“Hey, you decided to join me!” She smiled, once she had turned around to pick up a piece of wood that had fallen behind her and saw him.

“What are you doing?” He asked, setting Lucky back down on the ground.

“What, you've never seen someone splitting firewood before?” She asked, bringing the ax back over her head and down on another small log.

“Yes, I have, but I've just never seen...... never mind.” He stopped himself, realizing he'd never seen anyone chop firewood.

“What, never seen a woman chopping her own firewood before?” she was still smiling as she panted, letting the ax fall to the ground, deciding to take a break.

“You have to do everything around here by yourself, don't you?” he asked, looking at the pile of wood she had already split, then over the the fairly sizable stack she still had left to go.

“Yea, for quite some time now. I thought about hiring some help, but figured it wasn't worth the risk.”

“The risk?” He asked.

“Of someone finding out my secret. So, I decided it was best just to keep to myself as much as possible. Plus, it gives the ladies in town something to do.” She mused, as she walked over to him and knelt down to pet Lucky.

“What does it give them to do?” he asked, not really understanding what she was talking about.

She chuckled and shook her head, before looking up at him and answering, “It gives them something to gossip about. They also like to try and set me up with their single sons and nephews.”

“Why do they do that?”

“I don't know, I guess they just find it hard to believe that a woman can be happy, single and alone.”

“Are you happy?” Luke asked, kneeling down next to her, to pet the cat as well.

“Yea, for the most part. I mean it does get lonely out here being by myself all the time, but that's what I have Lucky here for. He keeps me company and is the only guy for me. Aren't you, Lucky?” She said, picking up said cat and kissing him on his head. Lucky wasn't too keen on her sudden burst of affection, and managed to squirm his way out of her grasp.

“I guess he doesn't really feel the same.” She laughed as she watched him run outside. “Ok, that was a long enough break, time to get back to chopping. That wood's not gonna split itself.” She groaned as she put her hands on her knees and pushed herself up from her kneeling position.

Luke just stared at her, watching as she got up and picked up the ax to start splitting again. He thought it was amazing how content she was to do all these things on her own. Not relying on anyone but herself. He was starting to realize that the longer he stayed, the harder he was finding it to convince himself to leave.

“You should let me help you with that.” Luke said, grabbing the ax from her mid swing.

“Hey, what are you doing?” she asked, trying to grab the ax back from him.

“I want to help.” he said, pushing her out of the way and grabbing one of the small logs.

“No, it's fine. Your leg is still healing, I don't want to take the chance of you re-injuring it.” she said, trying to grab the ax back from him. He couldn't help the smile as she would jump to try and reach the ax he was holding above his head.

“It's been over two weeks, it's all healed up.” He said as he pushed her out of the way so he could grab a piece of wood and start chopping.

“What! There's no way! I want to see!” She said, grabbing his hand before he could grab another piece of wood, then she pulled him towards the chair she kept by the back door.

“You want me to drop my pants right now?” He smirked, relishing in the opportunity to tease her.

“What!? Oh god, no!” she shrieked, shaking her head and waving her hands vigorously in front of her as she backed away from him. Luke couldn't help but smile at her reaction.

He looked down and saw a stray piece of wood behind her that she was about to step on. He reached out his hand, rushing to catch her, but he didn't make it in time. She stepped on the piece of wood and fell backwards, hitting her head on another piece of wood as she fell.

Luke ran to her and knelt down next to her, “___, are you ok?” he asked, his eyes wide with panic. He was worried hitting her head as hard as she did, she'd be knocked out, or worse.

“Oooowwwww. Yea, I'm fine. Sorry about that, guess I should be a little more careful, huh?” She said with a grimace as she slowly sat up and rubbed the back of her head.

“Let me see.” Luke said, grabbing her hand and pulling it away from the back of her head. There was a small surge of panic that ran through him as he saw the blood that covered her hand.

“You're bleeding.” He said, holding it in front of her.

“Damn it. All right, I'll be back.” She said as she pulled herself up. She stumbled a little as she tried to take a few steps towards the door to go to the house, almost falling back to the ground.

“Careful. Here, let me help you.” Luke said, wrapping his arm around her waist and taking her hand in his, helping to support her as he walked her back to the house.

“It's ok, I can make it on my own. You don't have to help me.” She said, trying to pull away a little, so she wasn't relying on him so much.

“It's good to be able to do things on your own, but it's also good to let people help you every now and again.” he said, pulling her closer and tightening his grip around her waist.

She was glad for the cold air that would hide her blush. She wasn't used to people being this close to her. She always preferred to keep her distance from and she definitely didn't like to let them touch her in such a familiar way. But, Luke did have a point. Sometimes it was ok to accept help from others.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I try to update as often as I can, but, if you want to know when the next chapter comes out, please subscribe to this story. It will save you from constantly having to come back and check ;)


	4. Keep the nightmares away................... Please?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky has a nightmare. You give him something he hasn't had in a long time. A night free of nightmares.
> 
> Fluff and a little smut. It's been so long since I've written smut, I hope it's decent......

A month and a half had now passed since __ had found Luke in her barn. His wound was completely healed and aside from the nightmares he had begun suffering recently, he seemed to be adjusting fine to the routine the two of them had settled into.

Luke's nightmares had started within a few days of him waking up. It was only recently that they had started to intensify and he would wake up screaming in the middle of the night. The first night the screaming happened, ___ had been woken from a dead sleep. Once she realized the screaming was coming from her guest, she ran downstairs, into his room.

“Luke! Luke! Wake up! You're dreaming!” ___ yelled, as she grabbed his shoulders and began to gently shake him, hoping it would wake him up. Unfortunately, it didn't, so, she yelled louder and shook more vigorously.

Luke's eyes opened and as they locked with ____'s, his metal hand wrapped itself around her throat and she quickly found herself on the floor, Luke hovering over her, yelling at her in Russian.

“Luke........ Luke.... please..... wake up.” was all she was able to choke out before she could feel her lungs begin to burn, begging to be allowed to inhale, even if just a little.

“Luke......... Please.” she mouthed, her vision starting to blur, eyes brimming with tears, all while it was becoming harder and harder to see Luke, or anything else for that matter. Her last thoughts before completely blacking out, were a prayer that he would wake up before he killed her.

When ___ regained consciousness, she was still lying on the floor, she could hear someone next to her whispering, she assumed it was Luke. She took a long, deep breath before opening her eyes. Her vision was still slightly fuzzy and her head throbbed, but she could make out shapes, it looked like Luke had turned the bedside lamp on.

“Luke?” She croaked as she tried to sit up.

“____!” Luke almost yelled as he quickly rushed to help her sit up.

“Are you ok?” she whispered, while placing a hand on his chest, her voice hoarse and soar from Luke strangling her. 

“I thought I had killed you!” he said, failing to fight back the tears as he pulled her into a tight hug. “I'm so sorry!”

“It's ok, Luke. You were having a nightmare and I should have known better than to try to wake you up like that. It's just that you were yelling and tossing around. I was worried. If anyone should apologize, it should be me.”

“What? No!” Luke said as he grabbed her face with both of his hands, looking her in the eyes. It was very clear to her then, that he had been crying.

“You have nothing to be sorry for! It's my fault, I'm sorry. I'm so, so, so sorry.” he continued as he placed his forehead against ___'s and whispered, “I could never forgive myself if something bad were to ever happen to you.”

____ placed her hands over Luke's and gently removed them. He looked at her confused, but she just smiled up at him.

“I'm fine, don't worry about me. I'm a strong girl, I can take care of myself. Now, the person I'm most worried about is you. How long have you been having these nightmares?” She asked, as she continued to hold his hands.

“As long as I can remember. They get worse every time I'm brought out. I'm sure they're more than just dreams. I think they're memories of the things I've done. The people I've killed.” He all but whispered the last part.

“Oh, Luke, I'm so sorry. Would you like to talk about it? Sometimes talking helps.”

Luke just shook his head. The last thing he wanted to do was talk about all the people he had murdered, especially to ___. He didn't want to hear her ask him to leave, even though, he knew he should have left the night he woke up.

“Is there anything I can do to help?” She asked.

“Stay?” He asked as he looked her in the eyes.

“Luke, it's my house, where would I go?” She gave him a confused look as he shook his head.

“No. I don't want to be alone tonight.”

She thought about it for a minute before she realized what he was asking.

“OH!” her eyes almost bugging out of her head and her heart racing with slight panic.

“It's just, I think if you stayed, it might help to keep the nightmares away.” He looked at her, his eyes begging her not to leave him alone in the dark. He was always alone.

“Um, a...alright....” she blushed. She couldn't believe she had agreed, but, deep down, she trusted that Luke wouldn't do anything.

“Thank you.” Luke gave her a small smile, once again, resting his forehead against hers, his hands back to holding her face.

He didn't want to admit it, but he was growing very fond of the young girl and that scared him, more than the nightmares ever could.

She let out a heavy sigh and removed his hands from her face.

“Come on, lets get you to bed. We've got a busy day ahead of us tomorrow.” She gave him a soft, reassuring smile, while pulling him back up to his feet. He let her lead him back to his bed and get him all settled in. He grabbed her wrist as she turned to leave. She turned back to look at him and smiled, seeing the fear in his eyes.

“Don't worry, I'll be right back. I was just going to get the blankets and pillows from my room so I can sleep on the floor.”

“No, next to me.” he said. She let out a small squeak as he pulled her into the bed and held her tightly to him. She slowly relaxed into him as he nuzzled his face into the crook of her neck. He sort of reminded her of a child who was seeking comfort from his mother after a bad dream. She slowly wrapped her arms around him and began to run her fingers through his hair, humming the tune her mother used to use after she had woken from a nightmare. It wasn't long before Luke was sound asleep, with ____ quickly following him to dream land.

 

When Luke woke up, he was slightly confused at feeling the warm body pressed up against him. He slowly opened his eyes and looked down. ___ was huddled against his chest, his arms wrapped securely around her. It took him a moment to remember what had transpired to lead her into his bed. A nightmare. He'd had a very vivid nightmare, the next thing he knew, his metal hand was wrapped around her neck and she was unconscious. He thought he had killed her, then, when she had woken up, she held no concern for herself, only him. She had stayed with him all night, like he had asked. She had kept the nightmares at bay, prevented them from coming back. It was the first time Luke could remember not having nightmares.

Smiling to himself, he held her a little tighter and buried his nose in her hair, breathing as much of her in as he could. He wanted to continue to fight these feelings he was beginning to have for her, embrace the feeling that the people after him had given up and forgotten about him, but he knew. In the back of his mind, he knew they were still looking for him and would never stop looking. That's when he realized, he had to leave. He had to run, go into hiding. Somewhere he could never be found.

The thought of leaving ___ was heartbreaking to him. In the small amount of memories that he had, he couldn't remember anyone being this nice to him, or caring for him this much. He thought about asking her to run with him, but that was no life for her. No, it was better he leave and not say anything to her. He just had to decide when he should leave. Obviously the sooner the better. He was completely healed, there really was nothing keeping him here. Nothing, but ____.

The woman in his arms began to stir, bringing him out of his thoughts and loosening his hold on her.

“Good morning.” She grumbled, her voice soft and slightly raspy.

“Good morning.” He answered and couldn't help the smile that curled his lips as she blinked her eyes open and looked up at him with her own sleepy smile.

“No more nightmares, I take it?” she asked, adjusting herself so she slightly shifted away from him.

“It would seem not. Thank you, for staying with me all night.”

“No problem. It was worth it if you got a good night's rest.” She said, while trying to stifle a yawn.

“But it looks like you didn't.” he said, brow slightly furrowing.

“No, I did. I'm just not a morning person.” She said, before rolling on her back and stretching her muscles.

“I'm just surprised how much heat you give off. If it was any warmer outside, I'd have melted.” she said with a small chuckle. “Why are you so warm?” she asked, not realizing that she was cuddling back into him to get warm again. It was cool in the house and Luke was so warm, she didn't want to get up just yet.

“I don't know, I've just always been that way.” he answered, once again wrapping his arms around her, glad for the contact.

“I could lay here with you all day. You're like a heater, it's soooo nice.” She almost purred as her eyes began to get heavy once more.

As much as Luke wanted to continue the physical contact, he knew, the more attached he got to her, the harder it was going to be for him to leave. Then, an idea popped into his head, he was sure it would startle her awake and get her out of bed.

“If we continue to lay here together, I don't know if I'll be able to keep my hands to myself. I may just end up kissing you.” His voice was low and seductive as he whispered into her ear.

He was surprised by her answer as she cuddled closer to him. “Hmmmm, I'd like that.”

He swallowed hard, not expecting her to reply like that. Now he was stuck, his plan had backfired on him. His heart began to race and he started sweating. His sweats were growing uncomfortable at the thought of being able to touch the woman in his arms, in such an intimate way.

He swallowed hard again and looked down at her. He gently moved the hair out of her face. Stroking her cheek with his flesh hand, all he could think about was pressing his lips against hers. How they'd feel, how it would feel to rub his hands up and down her soft curves. He grew more nervous as he tried to remember the last time he had kissed a woman, he wasn't surprised that he couldn't remember anything. Though he was positive it had happened, it must have, the action seemed familiar enough.

Taking a couple deep breaths to calm his nerves, he gently tilted her head up with his flesh arm, since she was still laying on the other one. There were a million things going through his mind all at once, alongside a voice screaming at him to not go through with it, he'd only hurt her. There was another voice yelling even louder, telling him to go through with it. She wanted him to. He wanted, so badly, to remember what it felt like to kiss, to be kissed. In one split second, the louder voice won. His lips were pressed gently against hers. She let out a content hum as one of her arms slowly wrapped around him. He used the arm she was laying on to press her closer to him, his flesh arm wrapping around her shoulders and pulling her closer still. He deepened the kiss once she started to kiss him back. Sucking in large amounts of air through his nose so he wouldn't have to loose the contact.

He rolled her onto her back, freeing his metal arm, not once allowing his lips to leave hers. His hips pressing into her as both of her arms snaked around his neck, once again pulling him closer to her. He could hear the other voice in the back of his mind, the one telling him to stop, he would only hurt her in the end, but he ignored that voice, blocked it out completely. He was too into the moment to care about the repercussions. He needed this, he deserved this, is what the other voice told him, the one he chose to listen to.

“Mmmm, Luke.” ____ moaned as Luke began to kiss her neck

“I'm here.” He replied, removing his lips from her skin just long enough to reply.

“We shouldn't.” she tried, but was cut off when one of Luke's hands slid under her shirt to fondle her soft breasts.

“Shouldn't what?” he asked, his other hand moving the shirt up so he could have access to what lies beneath.

“This, we shouldn't.” she tried, her hands tangling in his hair as he began to suckle one of her nipples. He smiled as she arched her back and let out a soft moan. He doesn't remember ever having done this before, but somehow his body knew exactly what to do.

“We can't” she tried again, but Luke was to far gone to comprehend. He continued to suckle her breasts as his flesh hand slowly moved down her body, finding it's way under her pants and panties. Continuing past her mound of hair, between her legs, finding their way to the folds of her sex and in between them. Feeling the warmth and wetness that was waiting to welcome him. Begging for him to enter.

She let out a small cry as he found her center of pleasure.

“Oh god, I can't wait to feel all of you.” He whispered into her ear, before capturing her lips once more, silencing whatever plea she was going to offer.

The ache in his lower abdomen was getting stronger, he wasn't sure how much longer he could tease her. He needed to feel her, he needed to be closer, needed to be inside of her.

“Can I taste you?” he asked, his fingers continuing to caress her and coax small moans out of her.

“Luke, please, I've never....” and just like that, he stopped. His head snapped up and he stared at her. Her cheeks were flush and she was panting, her breasts still exposed, his hand gone from between her legs. She was more beautiful in this moment than he could ever remember seeing her. He never wanted to forget this moment, so he continued to stare, to burn the image of her into his mind.

He still couldn't believe what he had just heard. How he was so willing to take something so precious, without asking first. He had just assumed, given her age.

“I'm sorry.” she whispered, all of a sudden feeling embarrassed and ashamed, pulling her shirt down and sitting up, forcing him to sit back as well.

“Why are you apologizing? If anyone should apologize, it should be me. I got carried away, I couldn't help myself.” he looked down at the bed, to ashamed to look at her.

They were both silent for a moment, before Luke looked back up at her. She was sitting with her legs crossed, one arm wrapped around her, while the other played with the cuff of her pajama pants.

“I really am sorry. I don't know what came over me.” he said, looking away and running his flresh hand through his hair. He could still smell her on his fingers and he wasn't ashamed to say that he wanted to smell more of her on him.

“It's weird, right? As old as I am, and never having. You know.” She looked away, ashamed of her secret.

“What? No! Why would you think that?” He asked, confused by her response.

“Because you stopped.” She almost whispered, still afraid to look at him.

“Because I was surprised. I had figured, at some point, there was someone.” she shook her head, no.

“Because of my ability, I've always kept physical contact to a minimum. I was afraid of someone finding out. Of being reported. I didn't want to risk anything, so I started keeping to myself and staying away from boys. I mean, not that there were any lining up to ask me out.” She said, giving a weak smile.

“Well, it's their loss.” He smiled, moving to sit next to her, his flesh hand moving to caress her cheek.

“So, you'd still, you know. Want to. With me?” she asked, looking up into his gentle, blue eyes.

“More than anything. But not like this. Not because I want you to, but because you want to. When you feel it's right.” He smiled, placing his forehead against hers.

“Thank you, Luke.” she let out a sigh of relief.

Luke was about to say something else, when they heard the doorbell ring. ___ looked at Luke confused.

“I'm not expecting anyone today.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I try to update as often as I can, but, if you want to know when the next chapter comes out, please subscribe to this story. It will save you from constantly having to come back and check ;)


	5. The realization is hard to accept.....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for any errors, I didn't proof it before posting. I will proof eventually though. I just wanted to hurry and post it!

___ and Luke got up and walked towards the front door.

“I don't know if you should answer it.” Luke whispered.

“It's probably someone with an emergency.”

“Then why didn't they call first?” He asked, glaring at the front door.

“Believe it or not, there are a few farms around here who don't have phone service, or it's someone who doesn't have my number.” She shrugged, turning the locks on the door, so she could open it and see who was on the other side.

Luke quickly moved behind the door, so he could attack whoever it was if they made a move to hurt ___.

“Morning ___, sorry to bother you like this.” Said the young man who stood on her front porch.

“It's all right Eddie, come in and tell me what's going on.” She smiled, opening the door a little wider for him.

“It's, Daisy. Mom and I went to go milk her this morning and we found her laying in her stall, breathing really heavy.”

Luke was confused when he saw ___ smile at the young man.

“She's gone into labor! Oh, that's wonderful, Eddie. Wait for me outside and I'll go grab my things.”

The young man turned to leave, but froze when he saw Luke. He had no idea there was someone else in the house, let alone a man who looked like he could rip Eddie to pieces. Luke just glared at the boy. His suspicious nature quickly taking over. Luke opened his mouth to say something, but stopped when ___ came back into the room with a rather large bag.

“Luke, if you want to go, you need to get dressed. Go on, hurry. Eddie, how long as she been in labor?” Luke headed to his room without saying a word, but continued to glare at the young man as long as he could. 

“I'm not sure, we found her at about five am.”

“And you waited this long to come and get me?! Luke, hurry your ass up, we need to leave, like an hour ago!” She yelled towards the bedroom.

“Who is he?” Eddie asked.

“Luke? Oh, he's just someone I hired to help me around the farm for a while. I don't know why I didn't hire someone sooner. He's been such a blessing to have around here.”

“You know dad said he'd be willing to help with whatever you need and me too.”

“I know, but you all have your own farm to maintain. It just doesn't seem fair to have you work all day at your place, then expect you to come and help me with mine. Besides, it's nice to have someone else to cook for.” ___ smiled before turning around to yell at Luke again, instead smiling when she saw he was standing right behind her.

“All right, lets go deliver a calf!” She smiled and practically skipped out the front door. Luke couldn't help the smile that crept across his face as he followed her to her pick up.

“Hey, Charlie! You can go ahead, I'll follow you.” ___ waved to the man sitting in the truck parked in front of her house. He just waved back and drove off once his son was in the vehicle.

“I don't trust them.” Luke said after he closed the door.

“Charlie and Eddie? Oh, they're fine, stop worrying. I've been expecting this calf for over a week now, glad it's finally ready to be delivered.” ___ smiled as she started her truck and began to drive the same road Charlie had just left on.

“I still don't trust them.” He said, no emotion evident in his voice. ___ found it a little disturbing, since not fifteen minutes ago, he was cuddling her in his bed. The memory brought a blush to her face and she hoped Luke wasn't looking at her.

It was the first time she had ever been touched like that. Luke had been so tender and so gentle, if it wouldn't have been her first time, she wouldn't have been so scared and she would have let Luke do everything he wanted to her. Her mind quickly brought forward the memory of Luke asking if he could taste her. The way he said it and the feeling of his hot breath against her skin gave her goosebumps and made her groin ache for Luke.

“Are you ok? Your face is all red.” Luke asked, bringing ___ back to the present.

“Yea, sorry, guess it's still just a little chilly in here.” she said with a nervous laugh and turning the heater up, hoping Luke wouldn't question her more.

Luke nodded and looked back out the front window. This was the first time he had left ____'s farm since he'd arrived. Even when she went into town for supplies or groceries, he would stay behind, he was afraid of running into those who were after him. The only reason he was going now was because something just didn't feel right about this. Sure, he was aware that it could have just been his suspicious nature and the overprotective feelings he had for the young woman, the only way to make sure, was to go with her.

“Have you ever seen a calf being born before?” ___ asked him, pulling him from his thoughts and breaking the silence.

“No.”

“Well, then you're in for a treat! This is one my favorite parts of the job, delivering all the cute baby animals!”

Luke looked at her and couldn't help noticing how her eyes sparkled with excitement, her big smile and how she bit her lip, trying to keep her excitement under control. Luke couldn't help the soft smile that spread across his own lips. He couldn't help but think about how amazing she was.

That's when it hit him, he was completely head over heals for her and unless she agreed to go with him, there was no way he could leave her. The voice in the back of his head reminded him how selfish it was of him to stay. How selfish it was to put her in so much danger, but another voice argued that it didn't matter whether he stayed or not, she was already in danger. At least if he stayed, he could protect her, ensure that she would be able to escape when HYDRA found him. He would kill as many as he could, then surrender when she was safe.

Luke was brought out of his thoughts when ___ honked her horn then yelled out the window at the truck in front of them.

“COME ON CHARLIE! GO FASTER! I'VE GOT A CALF TO DELIVER!!” she honked again, just to get her point across.

Luke had to stifle a laugh at her actions. She looked at him, confused as to why he was laughing.

“What's so funny?” she asked.

“You. I doubt there is anyone else who would yell at someone like that, just to deliver a cow.”

She smiled and gave a small chuckle herself.

“Yea, I guess yelling out the window at them is a little excessive, isn't it?” Luke just nodded.

“I guess he is doing the speed limit, oh, there's the turn off!” she perked up at seeing Charlie turn off the main road, then smiled as she noticed him picking up speed on the gravel road.

“That's more like it!” she grinned as she matched his speed.

They were pulling up to the barn in a matter of minutes. ___ quickly shut off the truck and got out as fast as she could, leaving the door open, she grabbed her bag out of the back and ran into the barn.

Luke was a little more cautious, he quickly began to survey the surrounding area. Looking for places people could be hiding. Looking for unusual tread marks in the dirt. He didn't see any boot marks that looked out of the ordinary either. He walked around the front of the truck and shut the driver's side door, still looking for anything suspicious.

He he saw movement in the house as one of the curtains swayed, as if someone had moved it to look out the window. He glared in the direction, wondering if maybe it was the wife. He slowly began to walk to the barn, where he had seen __ enter. Once he got closer, he stopped to listen. If she was here to deliver a cow, wouldn't there be some kind of noise from the animal and possible talking? But there was nothing, only silence.

He slowly opened the door, seeing Charlie and his son laying on the ground unconscious. He quickly looked around for ___. He wasn't surprised to see her being held at gunpoint by a HYDRA agent in the middle of the room.

“Glad to see you've completely healed.” Said a man who stepped out from behind the door Luke had just opened.

“Let her go, and I'll come willingly, without a fight.” He growled as he turned to look at the man.

“Too bad that's not an option. We know what she is and what she can do. She's going to be a wonderful addition to HYDRA.” The man smiled at ___ as he walked towards her. Luke could see the tears rolling down her cheeks, the fear and panic in her eyes. If Luke could stall a little longer, maybe she would panic enough to loose control and expose her wings, like the night he first met her.

“What are you going to do to her?” Luke asked.

“Being away from HYDRA for so long seems to have made you forget your place. No matter, not like you'll remember any of this once we get back.” He said as he raised a finger and ran it down __'s cheek. It took everything Luke had to not lunge at him and beat him for touching her.

“I'm sure some of the scientists would love to do a little experimenting on her before she's turned into a soldier like you. I'm sure some of the higher ups will be all to eager to have their way with her. It's not everyday you get the chance to be intimate with an angel, after all.” He gave ___ a lewd grin, his eyes with a hint of lust behind them.

Luke could see her breathing get faster, her eyes quickly shifting between him and the man in front of her, she was starting to panic. Just a little bit more.

“Will she get to keep her memories?” he asked.

“Doubtful. A soldier with morals asks too many questions. Not to mention, with what she'll go through, it seems to be more humane to erase her memories, don't you think?” He looked at Luke, that malicious grin still present.

“No.”

Luke and the other man looked at ___.

“It's not like you'll have a say in any of this.” The man chuckled, looking down on ___.

Luke recognized the wild look in her eyes. She was about to loose her control. He threw himself on the ground, not wanting to be thrown across the room like last time.

“NO!!” ___ screamed as her wings burst from her back, shredding her jacket and shirt. The force of the wings emerging, throwing the man holding her across the room and into a support beam, he feel to the ground unconscious.

Luke looked up, seeing ___ standing there, breathing heavy, looking around, panic still written across her features. While the other man was still disoriented, he got up, seeing a pitch fork not far from where he was, he grabbed it and ran at the man with it, stabbing him through the chest, killing him.

He quickly looked to where ___ was, she was just staring at him, fear and confusion the only thing he saw.

“___, are you all right?” He asked, walking towards her slowly, his hands up in a non-threatening gesture.

She was still breathing hard, but was slowly calming down. Once he reached her, he wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly against him.

“Shhhh, it's ok. You're safe now. They're gone.” he whispered, trying to calm her down more.

“You killed that man.” was all she said.

“I had to. I couldn't let him do those things to you. I couldn't let them take you.”

“Luke, I'm scared. If they were here, then they know where to find you. You have to leave, my home isn't safe for you anymore.” she looked up at him, fresh tears falling once again.

“It's not safe for you anymore, either. You heard what he said, they know about your power. They won't stop until they have you.” He saw the color drain from her face at his words, the reality of it setting in.

He closed his eyes and held her tighter, cursing his selfishness. It was his fault they knew about her. It was his fault they would hunt her down wherever she went. It was his fault she would now have to leave her home.

“I'm sorry.” he whispered as he kissed the top of her head.

“What are we going to do?” she asked between sobs, clinging to the front of Luke's shirt.

“We have to run. We'll go back to your place and pack a few things, then we'll leave.”

“Where?”

“I don't know.” he sighed, his mind racing, trying to think of where they could go that HYDRA wouldn't think to look.

“Don't worry, I'll figure it out, but right now, we can't stay here. We need to get back to your place before they realize what happened here.

“It's too late for that. They're already there.” came a feminine voice from behind Luke. He quickly turned and took a protective stance in front of ___.

The young girl sighed, sorrow clearly written across her face.

“Claire?” __ asked, and she nodded.

“I overheard them talking this morning. They've been here since last night. They offered dad a lot of money to lure you here. They said they were FBI and the guy you hired was really bad. They'd been tracking him for a while and needed a way to get you away from him to make sure he couldn't use you as a hostage. I'm sure if mom and dad had known, they wouldn't have helped. Dad knew their story didn't make a lot of sense, but we needed the money so bad, I think he was willing to believe it.

“This morning, I heard them talking. They were going to have a few officers stay behind, just in case he came with you, but they were pretty sure he'd stay behind, so most of them went to your place to get him.” She said, nodding her head towards Luke.

“Why are you telling us this?” Luke asked.

“Because when you got out of the truck, everything changed. I've been hiding in one of the crawl spaces since last night, they didn't even know I was here. When they saw you, they injected my mom with something, I checked her, she's just sleeping.” She said, noticing how you made like you were going to run into the house to check on her mom.

“It must be the same stuff they gave Charlie and Eddie, then.” you said, looking to where the two of them were still lying.

“What did you hear them say this morning?” Luke asked a little harsher than he wanted, but he was frustrated she hadn't told them what she heard.

“They were going to send everything they had to ___'s place, take you by surprise. Then once they had you, they were going to take ___. They were talking about her wings and how she would make them even more powerful.”

“And you're not shocked by her wings?” Luke glared.

Claire shook her head.

“No, I have a power of my own.”

“Which is why you were hiding from them.” ___ said. Claire nodded, glad ___ understood.

“What's you're power?” Luke asked.

I can read minds. 

Luke took a step back, startled that the girl could put her voice in his head. He looked down at ___, who just smiled in understanding.

“That's how you were able to hear them. Do your parents know?” ___ asked, a soft smile gracing her lips.

“Yea. I told them a few months ago. They were shocked and scared at first, but accepted it. There's a school in upstate New York that I'm going to attend. Everyone there has some sort of mutation. They're going to teach me how to control it better. I'm sure they'd let the both of you stay, too.” She smiled, taking a step closer.

“I think I might be a little older than what they're looking for in a student.” ____ chuckled.

“That's not what the Professor told me when they came to us. He said, that if I knew of others, to urge them to reach out to him. His school is a safe place for all mutants, besides, I'm sure they could use your veterinary skills.”

“I don't think it's a good idea. They could be HYDRA masquerading as a school to recruit unwilling soldiers with abilities.” Luke offered, still standing in between ___ and Claire.

“I was able to scan the mind of the lady he brought with him. There was no ill intent present, not like in the men from last night.” She said, slightly agitated that she wasn't believed.

“Well, your brother and father just tried to sell ___ off to some bad people, so you'll have to excuse me for not believing you.” He glared down at her, standing a little taller, doing his best to intimidate the young girl.

“____ we need to go, it's not safe for us here.” Luke said, turning and gently grabbing her arm.

“At least let me give you some clothes. She can't go anywhere with her clothes all shredded up like that.” Claire sighed.

“She does have a point, Luke.” ___ looked down at herself, blushing at the state of her attire.

“Fine, but lets make it quick. We've wasted enough time already.” He grumbled.

“Some of mom's clothes might fit.” Claire said, turning to lead them into the house.

“Keep your guard up, there could be more in the house.” Luke whispered into ___'s ear as he followed behind . __ jusClaire nodded.

They followed Claire inside, Luke entering before ___, to make sure it was safe for her to enter.

“It's clear, you can come in.” he said, hollering from the kitchen.

“I'll go get some of mom's clothes for you. You both look to be about the same size.” Claire said as she headed up the stairs to her parents room.

“Where's the mom?” Luke asked, realizing he hadn't seen a body.

He quietly went up the stairs, listening for extra foot steps or voices. Once at the top, he listened for where the girl might be. He heard shuffling in the door just to his right, wanting to take whoever by surprise, He burst through the door, Claire screamed and dropped to the floor. That's when Luke saw the woman laying on the bed.

“What the hell!” Claire yelled as she stood back up.

“I didn't see your mom anywhere downstairs and thought you might be lying to us.”

“Now you know I'm not! I brought her up here after those men left. It felt wrong to just leave her laying on the floor like that.” She said as she continued to rummage through her mom's clothes.

“Sorry.” Luke said as he left and headed back downstairs.

“Did you find Nora?” ___ asked.

“If that's the mom, yea, she's upstairs in her bed.” Luke said as he walked to the living room windows and looked out, making sure no one was trying to get the drop on them.

They both looked at Claire when they heard her footsteps on the stairs.

“It's not much, but it will do until you can get yourself some better clothes.”

“Thank you, Claire.” ____ said as she took the clothes.

“Take this too. It's the card the professor gave us when he was here. At least think about it asking them for help.” Claire said, handing ___ a small business card.

“I will, thank you.” ___ smiled as she took the card and headed to the bathroom.

Luke watched her go, then turned back to the window.

“She doesn't blame you, you know.” Claire said, walking to stand next to Luke and looking out the window. Luke just glared at her.

“She cares about you, a lot, and I know you care about her even more. I read that man's mind, the leader, I know what they want to do to her. It's vile, disgusting and something no woman should ever have to go through.”

Luke looked at her, noticing the tears welling up in her eyes. He stopped to take a better look at her, she looked to be between twelve and fourteen, petite and fragile.

“They've been watching the two of you since the night she found you. They wanted you to develop feelings for her, to get close to her. They want to use her against you, to control you and to prevent you from running away again. They also want to experiment on her, see if they can duplicate her power. They want to test her limits and make her like you.”

“Why are you telling me this?” He asked, doing his best to keep the fear from showing through.

“Because you need to know what's going to happen if they ever get their hands on her. The price she's going to pay for your selfishness.” with that, Claire looked him dead in the eye and Luke's blood ran cold.

“The jeans are a little snug, but they'll ju......” ___ stopped when she saw the intense glare, Claire was giving Luke.

“Is everything ok?” She asked, a nervous hint to her voice.

“Yea, you two better get going, I'm sure they've figured out by now that something's wrong.” Claire gave ___ a small smile, as she looked away from Luke.

“Luke, are you alright?” __ asked.

“She's right, we better get going.” Luke said, the color slightly returning to his face as he walked toward ___ and took her hand, pulling her to the front door.

“But what about Claire?” ___ asked.

“I'll be fine. I'm leaving tonight, anyway. But here, you'll both need this. It's the least my family can do for the trouble they've put you through.” Claire handed ___ a thick manila envelope.

She looked inside and gasped, saying, “Claire, I can't take this!”

“Yes you can, this is only half of what those men gave my dad. Take it as an apology, now go!” Claire said, practically pushing ___ out the door.

“Thank you, Claire, when your parents wake up, tell them, no hard feelings.”

With tears in her eyes, Luke pulled ____ towards her truck so the could leave. She got in the passenger side, while Luke got behind the wheel. ___ waved bye to Claire as Luke speed off down the road.

“Don't worry, I'll keep you safe.” Luke said, placing his hand on ___'s thigh.

“Luke, I'm really scared.”

“I know and I'm sorry. This is all my fault.”

“Please don't say that.” ___ all but whispered, more tears threatening to fall.

“It's not your fault. You were just trying to get away from some really bad people, how could I blame you for that?” she asked, playing with one of the corners of the manila envelope.

“I should have left right after I woke up.” he said, his hand moving back to the steering wheel.

“Don't say that, please. I'm glad you didn't leave and I'm glad I got to know you.”

Luke couldn't help but smile at her words. Looking over to her, he said, “Yea, I'm glad too.”

She smiled back at him, then her eyes went wide and she let out a gasp.

“I have an idea! Drive to the train station.” 

“I don't know....”

“I'll give you directions, now, just drive.” She smiled.

Luke gave her a sideways glance, wondering what she was planning. Deciding to trust her, he drove and followed her directions to the train station.

He hadn't even turned the engine off, before she was jumping out of the vehicle and running into the station. He watched her run up to the first couple she saw, she pointed in his direction, smiling. The couple looked at each other and smiled, then they looked back at her and nodded. She led them over Luke and the truck.

“Luke, can I have the keys.” He gave her a puzzled look, but handed her the keys.

“Here you go, and here's some money, hopefully it's enough to get to where you're going.” She smiled to the couple as she handed them $300 from the envelope.

“Thank you so much!” the man said, then moved around to the driver's side and got in, the woman doing the same on the passenger's side.

“Have a fun and safe drive!” ___ smiled and waved as the couple drove off.

“Why did you do that?” Luke asked as he watched their transportation drive away.

“Because we're going back to my place. It's the last place they'll think to look for us. They'll be too busy chasing after the truck, thinking we've fled.” She looked up at him and smiled.

“That's actually a pretty good idea.” He looked down at her, returning her smile.

“So, how do we get back to your place?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I'll fly us there.” she looked at her feet sheepishly.

Luke gave her a look of surprise, he definitely wasn't expecting that.

“We can hide in the woods until it's dark, then, I can fly us back home. We can properly plan a strategy and get some extra supplies.” 

Luke watched, stunned, as ___ began to walk towards the forest behind the train station, a smile began to play at his lips as he quickly followed her.


	6. The Calm Before the Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waiting for nightfall before heading back home, reader and Bucky talk. Lots and lots of talking!
> 
>  
> 
> Please enjoy!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry to keep you all waiting for this chapter. As an apology, it's extra long! 9395 words and almost 16 pages in open office!  
> Again, please enjoy!

It was almost nine thirty when ___ and Luke decided they had waited long enough. They had spent the entire time in the forest just talking, it was the longest they'd ever talked, Luke finally opened up a little bit more about some of the things he'd been remembering. He told her about the nightmare he'd had that morning, though it felt like it had been weeks ago. ___ was glad that he had decided to open up to her, even if just a little. Luke was happier listening to her talk about herself then having her listen to him talk about the horrible things Hydra had done to him, though, he had remembered a few things from before Hydra.

He had told her about this boy who frequented his dreams, he couldn't remember the boys name, but he told her about the fights he would get into, even though he was about the size of a fifteen year old. The weirdest dream he remembered the boy being in, was one where he changed into a tall, muscular soldier, wearing a red white and blue uniform, going around punching Hitler all the time. ___ couldn't help but laugh at that.

“That sounds like Captain America from back in the 40s, he was real person, you know.”

“Captain America?” Luke asked.

“Yea, no one knows his true origins, he just kinda showed up and toured the country, trying to get people to enlist and help the war effort any way they could. It was my favorite subject in history, mostly because my dad was a big fan and used to tell me stories as a kid. He even helped me do a whole report on it, a couple years in a row actually. I kinda had a small crush on him when I was a kid.” she couldn't stop the blush that crept up her face, hoping that since it was dark, Luke wouldn't notice, but he did, ever so slightly. It made him feel a little jealous that some guy, who had probably died before her parents were even a twinkle in her grandparent's eyes, could make her blush like that. He wanted to be the only man who made her blush, he was pulled from his thoughts when she started talking again.

“Then, when he was on tour on Europe, he heard about a bunch of soldiers who had been kidnapped, or were MIA. Being Captain America, he couldn't just let it go, so with the help of Howard Stark and Peggy Carter,” with the mention of her name, Luke saw a quick image of a beautiful brunette with wavy hair, red lipstick and a figure that wouldn't quit.

“She was gorgeous! Some of the things I read, said that her and the Captain were in love, but were cursed from the beginning, but I'll get to that in a minute. Oh, so, he parachuted in behind enemy lines, took out an entire Nazi base, all by himself, mind you. He rescued every single soldier that was there. Then, when they were a safe distance away, he used his mind powers to explode the place! One of the stories I read said the Captain went in to save his lover. Can you imagine! The Captain being, you know, that way?” she whispered the last part as if she was worried about being overheard.

Bucky shook his head and looked at her confused, he had no idea what she meant.

“You know, gay. He went in to rescue his male lover. What was his name, hold on, it's right there on the tip of my tongue......... damn it! I know this.......” Luke couldn't help the smile that crept up and he all of a sudden, felt a need to correct her.

“Sorry to tell you, they got it wrong. That little punk didn't do it all alone, he had help from the soldiers he rescued, and not all of them made it out alive. They were right about Peggy and Cap being in love, you could see it when they were together. When he introduced us, it was like I wasn't even there, she only had eyes for him. Which was a little unnerving, since I was quite the ladies man back in day. Oh, and Steve didn't have mind powers, we had managed to get our hands on some of the top secret weapons they'd been developing there, with all the shooting going on, there was bound to be some highly explosive equipment that got hit. Steve and I barley made it out, I'm not exactly sure how we did it, but we did it.” __ just stared up at him, eyes wide with shock. He looked at her, still with that smile, feeling like he had never felt before, “What?”

“You talk like you were there.”

“I was. You're looking at Captain America's best friend...” He got this cocky smirk on his face as he pointed to himself with both thumbs.

“James 'Bucky' Buchanan Barnes.” They said, simultaneously.

“No way!” She gasped as the smile fell from his face. Bucky's eyes went wide as the realization hit him.

“I..... I..... remembered something.” he all but whispered, his focus fading to the story he had just told her.

“If you're the Captain's best friend, Bucky, do you know how old that makes you? But, that's impossible!”___ was so excited to hear this, she was bursting with excitement, she didn't even notice Bucky's expression change.

“Not with Hydra it isn't.” his tone was all of a sudden, much darker, and the happy moment they had just shared was gone.

“Hydra?” ___ asked, clearly never having heard of them before.

“The secret Nazi base that was blown up, it was a super secret organization dealing more in occult studies. They're the one's who are looking for me.”

They both just sat there in silence, trying to process this new bit of information.

___ wanted to ask him more, but when she looked up at him, he was lost in thought, then she realized that he had just remembered something extremely important about his past.

“Luke, I mean, James, are you all right?” she asked, gently placing her hand on his forearm. When he didn't answer right away, she said his name again, this time, he looked at her.

“Sorry.”

“No, don't be, it's amazing that you remembered something so big!” she was trying to keep her voice low and gentle, which was difficult since she had a living history book in front of her, “You were a part of the Howling Commandos, Captain America's right hand man! I remember reading about a first hand report Peggy Carter had written, you're death hit him hard and he blamed himself for it. Every base they destroyed, he did it in your name. When we get back to my place, I'll grab my books and bring them with us. Speaking of which,” She said, looking down at her watch, “we'd better get going. So I'll drop you off near the tree line, then I'll go and check out the place, make sure it's empty and that they actually took the bait.” 

Doing his best to put the freshly recovered memory aside, he nodded in understanding.

“All right, I've never tried to carry someone before, so, bear with me, plus, it's been a while since I've actually gone flying. ” she gave him a bashful smile.

“If you can't carry me, I can just follow you on foot.” He said.

“No, it's too big a risk for you to be seen. They could still have people in the town.”

“If that's the case, then they could still have someone watching your house.” Bucky replied.

“Hmm, I didn't think of that. I guess we just play it by ear then and hope for the best. All right, I need to get a running start, then I'll swing around and grab you. You'll have to be running when I come back around though.”

“Don't worry, I can run.” He smirked.

“All right, well, right now, you need to go out there and keep your back towards me.” She said, pointing towards the train station.

“Why?”

“Because I have to take my clothes off before I bring my wings out.” she replied in a bashful whisper.

He had to fight the urge to tease her, given the circumstances, he let the urge pass and did as she asked.

He felt the gust of wind that was created by her wings being freed, it sent a slight shiver down his back. His mind quickly drifted to the way she looked the first time he had seen them, then, to just a few hours ago, when in the barn. Both times, she was scared, this time, she wouldn't be, he was eager to see how she carried herself.

“You don't happen to have a knife on you, do you?” She asked, stepping out of the woods, with her shirt and jacket pressed against her chest.

He felt around in his pockets and found his knife, glad that he still carried it with him everywhere, even if it wasn't the most intimidating weapon, at least he could use it if he needed. Smiling he handed it to her.

“Thanks, kinda forgot that I can't put these on unless I cut the backs off. There's no way I can get them around my wings.” She blushed, as she held the shirt and did her best to try and cut away some of the back. Seeing her struggle, he chuckled, before reaching out and taking the knife from her.

“Let me help, hold up the shirt and I'll cut.”

“Thank you.” she replied, holding the shirt up, hoping he wouldn't notice her embarrassment.

He did the best he could, at least now, she could get it on, then, if needed, he could cut more away.

“All right, try that, if it doesn't work, I'll cut more away.”

“Thanks, now turn around again.” she said, still holding the jacket to her chest with one hand. “I still can't believe you're the Captain's best friend. What was he like as a kid?” ___ asked as she put the shirt over her head.

“Smaller than you, but one of the bravest guys I ever knew.”

“Wait, if he was smaller than me, how'd he get to be so big? Milk can't be that good for you and I don't think you guys had steroids back then, did you?” ___ asked asked as she struggled to get the shirt over her wings.

“No, he let some scientist perform an experiment on him.” Bucky answered, hearing her struggle and the small grunts she was letting out, he turned to see her somewhat tangled her shirt, he couldn't help the laugh that escaped his lips. The shirt was partially covering her face, leaving her mid section exposed, and Bucky couldn't help but let his eyes drift down to the exposed flesh. It was odd not seeing her soft belly, but instead, he saw her toned abs, he had to mentally slap himself to stop the dirty thoughts that were starting form.

“Come on, James, it's not funny! I'm kinda stuck, I can't get the back of the shirt around my wings!” (f/n) groaned as she heard him laughing at her.

“Turn around, I'll help you, and call me Bucky. James is what my mom called me when I was in trouble.”

“You seem to be remembering a lot, all of a sudden.” ___ said as she turned so he could help her with her shirt.

“I know, it's strange. There's still a lot of holes, but, these memories are really clear for some reason.” he said, as he stretched the bottom of the shirt and did his best to pull them over the wings.

“What else do you remember?” Bucky was silent as he tugged and pulled on the shirt, __ assumed he was trying to think. When he stopped tugging, she thought he was done and turned to look at him. He had this faraway look in his eyes, like he really was trying to remember.

“Bucky?” with the sound of his name, he looked down at her, giving her a sad smile.

“They were there for a moment, but, the more I thought about them, them further they seemed to get.”

“I'm sorry, is there.....” but she was cut off.

“It's fine, we need to get back to your place anyway, the longer we're here, the more likely it will be that they'll find us.” Bucky replied.

“All right, but if you want to talk about it, I'm always here for you.”

“Thank you.” he gave her a warm smile, truly appreciating her understanding and not trying to push him for more information.

“All right.” ___ said as she clapped her hands and looked down the stretch of parking lot that they were standing in behind the train station.

“So, once I'm airborne, I'm gonna swing around and come back down so I can grab you, once you see me start to descend towards you, I want you to start running as fast as you can that way.” She said, pointing straight down the parking lot. “Got it?”

He just nodded. ___ took a few deep breaths before she took of at a dead run. Bucky watched as she ran as hard as she could while she flapped her wings, she was almost to the end of the parking lot before she jumped and flapped her wings even harder, trying to gain some altitude. He had never seen anything like it before in his life. He was actually happy that he had decided to stick around, the time that he was spending with her meant more to him than she would ever know. She had helped him remember more about who he was, she never pushed him or asked for more than he was willing to give. He couldn't believe how lucky he was. Then, his thoughts drifted to Hydra, and what was going to happen to her when they caught him. Not wanting to think about it, he looked up and tried to find ___, when he looked behind him and saw her coming straight at him, he took off running.

“Use that car up there to get yourself higher! I think it will be easier if I don't have to fly so low!” she yelled. He gave a brief nod as he ran as fast as he could. It didn't take him long to make it to the car, not even bothering to look behind him, he leaped on top of it and used all his strength to propel himself as high as he could.

“Hold out your arms!” she yelled, which he did.

He felt her fingers wrap around his wrists, so he did the same to hers, that way she wasn't the only one holding on. There was a sudden drop, before he felt them both climbing into the air.

“Holy..... hell Bucky......... you're heavy!” she panted and grunted as she flapped her wings harder than she ever had before. With the extra weight, she wasn't sure if she'd be able to fly them all the way to her house before she was just too exhausted to go any further. She knew she could at least make it out of town, then land near the woods and they could go the rest of the way on foot.

“You sure about this?” Bucky questioned, looking up at her, concerned with how hard she was having to work.

“Yea, no problem.” she gave a strained smiled, that only concerned Bucky even more.

“Look, I can walk. You don't need to over exert yourself like this.” he said, looking down to see if there was a safe place for her to drop him.

“I'm not putting you down in the middle of town. I'll fly as close to my place as I can, then we'll go on foot from there. Until then, stop talking and enjoy the flight!” she joked. Bucky could tell she was trying to hide the strain, carrying him was putting on her, but she was right. There was no way she could set him down in the middle of town, it would alert any Hydra agents in the area. He did as she asked, and stayed quiet as he anxiously watched the treeline get closer.

When they started to slow down, he looked up, she was breathing way to hard and dripping in sweat, plus, her grip on his wrists was starting to loosen. She was pushing herself to hard and if she didn't stop, Bucky was worried that she was going to pass out.

“(f/n), I think this is good enough, just let me go.” he knew she wanted to make it to the trees, but he figured they were close enough, since they were a fair distance outside town now.

“No, just a little further, we're almost there. I can make it.” He barely herd her, her voice was so raspy.

“No. You need to drop me. Now!” he ordered.

“Shut up, Bucky. I can do this! We're almost there.” He looked up at her, surprised that she had flat out refused him. He couldn't help the little burst of joy he felt knowing that she had no fear of him, even though he thought she should, he was still glad she didn't.

(f/n) knew the flight to her house was taking much longer than it should and that she wasn't going to be able to stay in the air much longer, but she wanted to get them as close as she possibly could, before she couldn't fly any further. When she saw the roof of her house in the moonlight, she felt a small burst of energy shoot through her. Flapping her wings as hard as she could, she began to pick up speed, not realizing that she was losing altitude at the same time. Bucky noticed. He was practically walking on the tree tops now.

“I can see my house, we're almost there. I think I can make it.”

Bucky looked up to see the look of determination on her face, then back ahead ahead to where she was looking. There was no way she was going to be able to carry them all that way, they had barely just entered the trees.

“(f/n), please, you have to let go. It's to far, we're not going to make it!” He was looking up at her again and saw the anger flash across her face.

“Yes.......” Bucky could feel the flapping of her wings become erratic, the tops of the trees were now hitting his thighs, and (f/n) was practically gasping for air. Her body wasn't going to let her go any further. He felt her grip give, keeping his flesh hand tightly wrapped around her wrist, grabbing the top of the tree, he was about to hit, with his metal one. It was just in time, too, he felt her hand release his wrist just as her body gave out and she lost consciousness.

He cursed at himself for not letting go sooner and allowing her to work so hard. Doing his best to climb down the tree with one hand, while keeping the other wrapped around her wrist, he made his way to a thick, stable branch. Leaning against the tree, both his feet on thick branches, he began to pull her up enough so he could grab her arm with his metal hand. Once his metal hand was around her arm, he was able to pull her up high enough, to wrap his flesh arm around her waist and pull her to him. Adjusting her so his flesh arm was free, he put a finger on her neck and began to feel for her pulse. It was way too fast, just like her breathing, she was practically panting, so he was just a little surprised when she looked up at him, her eyes barely open.

“Did I get us home?” she whispered between gasps, she even managed a small smile.

“Yea, you did it, you got us there, just like you said you would. Now close your eyes and rest, you deserve it.” He smiled back at her as she nodded and let her eyes close, her breath barely slowing down.

Still holding her, he did his best to get himself into a sitting position in the tree. He figured he would stay there with her, let her rest a little, before carrying her back to her place. He guessed they were probably about four miles away, he'd be able to get them there in no time. He looked back down at her, still not quite believing she had carried the both of them as far as she had. He brushed the hair that that was sticking to her forehead away, feeling how hot her skin was, he wanted to allow the cool air to get to as much of her skin as possible.

He was relieved as her breathing became more normal, as did her pulse, even her flushed skin was looking more like it's normal color and her wings had been absorbed back into her body. He decided that now, it was time to leave.

He gracefully and silently landed on the soft ground below the tree. His soldier instincts kicking in, he listened for any sound out of the ordinary, observing the way every shadow moved. Looking for anything that might be out of place. Confident everything was clear, he stood up and began to run in the direction of (f/n)'s house. Keeping his eyes and ears open for anything that might be out of place in the forest.

 

He figured it probably took a good thirty minutes to run back to her place, slower than his usual pace, since he didn't want to jostle her too much while she slept. Once he saw the silhouette of the barn, he slowed to a cautious walk. Still listening and looking for anything that might not be right. He reached the tree line and gently, set her down. He was now in full soldier mode, looking for anything that might be a threat, or any sign that Hydra was still there. After what he thought was a good hour, with no movement, he decided to venture closer to the house, perhaps if they were still here, they were hiding inside. Before he stepped out into the open, he checked on (f/n) one last time, she had curled herself into a ball and was practically shivering, that's when he remembered her back was completely exposed. He took his jacket off and wrapped her in it, zipping up the front so it wouldn't fall off if she moved. Then, instead of taking the direct route to the house, Bucky decided he would circle the perimeter through the trees first. That way, he could sneak up on any Hydra agents that might be hiding there.

 

He was relieved that it didn't take him long to make his way around the perimeter through the trees, and even more relieved, that the young woman was exactly where he had left her. Not wanting to leave her in the trees, he decided to go against his better judgment and take her with him as he went to investigate the house. He picked her up, carefully cradling her in his arms, and made his way to back to the barn, since it was closer. Once he reached the back door, he listened for a good ten minutes, when he didn't hear any movement, he decided it was safe to enter. He set her down in the chair he had sat in on the night he found the barn.

Feeling like she was safely hidden, he decided now would be a good time to check out the house. Bucky stalked to the front door of the barn, since it was left open, presumably by Hydra, he was able to see the back side of the house, the back door to the kitchen had been left wide open. He knew if Hydra was still there, they would have kept it closed, giving anyone a false sense of security. Still not wanting to take any chances, he remained overly cautious as he approached. His ears strained to hear anything that might indicate Hydra agents were hiding inside, heavy breathing, creaking floors, hushed voices. He heard none of that. His sweep of the rest of the house went just as quick, (f/n) had been right, Hydra was gone, they must be following her truck, thinking the two of them were running. He knew they wouldn't attack right away, they'd wait a few days, letting the pair think that they weren't being followed any more. That's usually when they would call him in to finish the job, he couldn't help but wonder how they would handle this situation. He was pulled from his thoughts by a soft meow at the door, he turned and smiled when he saw Lucky.

“Hey, there, little guy. I was wondering if you had stayed hidden.” Bucky said as he bent down and picked up the cat, who pressed his head against Bucky's chin and began to purr.

“Yes, I'm happy to see you too. But you know who would be even happier to see you?” Bucky couldn't help but chuckle at the cat's meow, it was almost like Lucky was answering him. Once Lucky began to squirm, Bucky let him jump down and watched him run out of the room, he was pretty sure he knew where the cat was going, not wanting to leave his companion outside any longer than necessary, Bucky followed.

Even knowing there were no Hydra agents around, he was still relieved to see the woman was exactly where he had left her. He smiled when he saw Lucky sitting on her lap, he felt as if the cat was glaring at him.

“Hey, don't look at me like that. I told her to stop before she overexerted herself, but you know how stubborn she is. She told me to shut up. I think the last person to say that to me, was Steve. As scrawny as he was, he still had the nerve to tell me to shut up.” The light hearted feeling Bucky had when he thought about Steve was something he hadn't felt in a very long time. He knew it was because of the woman sitting unconscious in the chair in front of him, that he was even able to feel this way and remember pieces of his life before. Somehow, he was able to forget the bad when he was with her and just focus on the good. She had even kept his nightmares at bay while he slept the previous night. Bucky couldn't believe it was just this morning that he had been kissing her in his bed. It felt like that had been months ago!

Remembering the kiss, Bucky looked up at her, then his focus was on her lips. He desperately wanted to feel them against his lips again, to hold her like he had this morning, to feel her body pressed against him, the way he craved....

“Stop it, Barnes! You can't be thinking that way at a time like this. There are more important things to be thinking about.” He scolded himself as he gently shoved Lucky off her lap, who gave an agitated meow in protest, as he lifted her back up, he held her against his chest. “Come on, Lucky, you can help me put her to bed.” Bucky said as he walked back to the house, enjoying the feeling of the woman cradled in his arms, Lucky following close behind.

 

Bucky decided to lay the woman in her own bed, the one that he had been using since arriving. He wanted to be able to keep an eye on her, at least, that's what he told himself. In reality, he wanted to keep her close to see if it she really was what had kept the nightmares at bay. He decided to leave her wrapped in his jacket while he began to pack a couple bags, so the two of them could leave as son as she was awake.

He felt both guilty and excited as he went through her drawers to pack some clothes. When he found the drawer that contained her underwear, he held a pair up and blushed. These were nothing like what the women in the forty's wore. There was less material and more lace. When her heard movement and a soft groan from behind him, he quickly shoved the undergarments back in the drawer and slammed it shut.

“Bucky?” she asked as she tried to move her arms, only to find they were restricted.

Trying not to look too guilty, he walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled the zipper down, freeing her arms.

“Hey, how are you feeling?” he asked, helping her sit up.

“Like I just ran around the world while fighting off an army.” she groaned, while giving him an exhausted smile.

“Yea, that sounds about right.” he chuckled.

“Where are we?” she asked, rubbing her eyes, not having opened them yet.

“Your place.”

“We made it?” she looked up at him, her eyes bright and shining, with a smile to match. Bucky wasn't sure where she got the energy for it, but he was glad she were ok.

“Yea, you passed out shortly after we made it to the forest. I carried you the rest of the way here.” the look he gave, sent butterflies fluttering in her stomach, of course, the fact that he was brushing the hair out of her face didn't help either.

“I'm sorry, I really thought I could make it.” she sighed, avoiding his gaze.

“It's all right, I'm impressed you got us as far as you did. I'm not the lightest thing to have to carry.” You couldn't help but laugh with him at his remark.

“I doubt I'm that light either. Sorry, you had to carry me.”

“Hey, trust me, you weigh practically nothing. Carrying you didn't slow me down at all.”

“Really?” her tone was one of surprise, as she looked up at him.

“Scout's honor.”

“I don't remember the history books every saying you were a scout.” she said, glaring at him playfully. “Oh, that reminds me, I should grab those books for you, before I forget.” she was about to get up, when Bucky put a hand against her chest to stop her.

“As much as I'd love to read them, I'm afraid they're just going to be unnecessary weight.”

“What do you mean?” Bucky sighed at her look of confusion.

“We can't stay here, it's not safe. I've already started packing our bags. We can rest a little longer, but we're going to have leave in a few hours.” Bucky's heart about broke when he saw the tears welling up in her eyes.

“I thought we'd be able to stay a couple days at least.” (f/n) said, doing her best to hold back the tears.

“I'm sorry. There's no telling how long it will take Hydra to realize it's not us in the truck they're following. I'm sure they've still got sleeper agents in town, just in case. The fact that they're not here yet, only means they still think it's us in that truck.”

“How long will be gone?” she asked even though she already knew the answer. Bucky knew she was scared, he could see it in her eyes and he was mentally cursing himself for it. Part of him wished he had been stronger and left right away. Wished that he hadn't stayed and gotten to know her. Wished he wasn't remembering the man he used to be. Wished he could go back and make the right choice, but at the same time, he was glad he didn't do any of those things. He was glad he had been selfish. Glad he had stayed and gotten to know her. Glad she had helped him remember some of who he was. Glad he he had stayed and developed feelings for her.

“I'm sorry.” was the only answer he could give. “It's all my fault you can't come back. I should have left that first night.” He was just riddled with guilt and was hating himself now more than ever.

“No.” Hearing her one word reply, Bucky looked up, taken aback by the hard look she was giving him. He doesn't remember ever seeing her look this angry, before. He honestly didn't think it was possible. Before he could say anything, she started talking, “You don't get to take all the blame. I'm at fault to. I could have called an ambulance and had them take you to the hospital, but I didn't. I brought you inside and patched you up. I kept you hydrated and took care of you while you healed. Then, when you wanted to leave, I talked you into staying. I wanted you to stay. I was lonely and the thought of having someone else around to talk to you, I don't know, sounded really nice. It was selfish of me, not to take what you wanted into consideration. It's just, well. I mean.” she let out a heavy sigh, trying to think of the best way to word what it was that she wanted to say. “It's just been me here for so long, when you came along and I was taking care of you would talking to you, I guess I didn't realize just how lonely I was. When you said you were going to leave, I was willing to deal with whatever consequences came along with it. I mean, part of me was willing to knock you out and tie you up, if it meant you would stay longer.”

Bucky couldn't help the small laugh that snuck past the hand he had covering his mouth. (f/n)'s head bolted up and she looked at him, confused, almost hurt that he thought of her loneliness as a joke. Bucky saw this and quickly shook his head.

“I'm sorry! I'm not laughing at you. It's just,” he paused as he took a couple deep breaths before continuing. “I was thinking the same thing about me. How I didn't want to leave and was willing to put my selfishness above what was in your best interests. That, and I don't think anyone has ever wanted my company enough to be willing to knock me out and tie me up.” Hearing him repeat her words, she couldn't help but laugh at the ridiculousness of it all.

“Hearing you say it back to me, does make me sound insane, doesn't it.”

“I don't think it's insane at all.” He said, his voice and smile softening as he held her chin up and brushed her cheek with his human thumb. “(f/n), I know I should never have stayed and I've put your life and safety in jeopardy by doing so, but, at the same time, I'm glad I did. It's nice to know that you were willing to go to such extremes just to keep me here with you.” His hand had moved, so it was now cupping her cheek, but his thumb was still caressing her skin.

“Bucky, I.....” before she could say anymore, Bucky's lips were silencing her. The butterflies in her stomach felt like they just exploded and were all trying to escape at once, preventing her from inhaling. The hand that Bucky had been using to hold her cheek, was now entangling itself in her hair, his bionic arm, wrapping itself around her waist and pulling her towards him so that both of them were now kneeling on the bed.

Realizing she needed to breath, she inhaled deeply through her nose, then wrapped her arms around Bucky's neck, pulling herself even closer to him. His grip on her tightened even more, he was afraid, that if he let you go, he'd be forced to wake up from a dream and realize nothing from the past couple of months had actually happened. He lout out a low, almost growl when her fingers entwined themselves in his hair and tightened their grip. (f/n)) shivered as she felt his metal hand make it's way under her shirt and up her back, stopping between her shoulder blades.

She had never kissed anybody the way she was kissing Bucky at that moment. It was like their tongues were battling over who was stronger. Bucky's hands were roaming over her body as if they wanted to devour her, but didn't know where to start. She felt small and timid in his embrace, never having experienced anything like it before. She had never allowed anyone to be this close to her, either emotionally or physically. Sensing her nervousness, Bucky, reluctantly ended the kiss and looked at her, panting and wanting nothing more than to just devour her and make her feel like she's never felt before. Looking at her, panting in his arms, eyes clouded with desire and a little fear, he remembered what she had told him that morning. She'd never been with a man before, never allowed anyone to get this close to her, this only made his decision even more agonizingly painful.

“We should stop.” He whispered as he kissed her forehead. The next words out of her mouth stung.

“I don't understand, I thought you wanted me?” Her voice was airy and full of so much want for him, but he could still hear the hurt undertone to it all. He had to close his eyes and take a deep breath, before looking at her and answering.

“More than I've ever wanted anybody or anything, in my entire life.” seeing the question on her face, he replied, not even giving her the chance to voice it, “If I let you give yourself to me tonight, I don't think I'd be able to make it as special a night as you deserve. I want to take my time with you, give you my full and undivided attention. If we,” he paused, not wanting to even speak the word, “tonight, I wouldn't be fully focused on you. I'd be thinking about to many other things. I'd feel rushed and you deserve so much more than that.” He'd had to pull to him and embrace her, the desire and hurt in her eyes were to much for him to take, right now.

“Bucky,” the last thing he wanted to do was give her the chance to sway his mind, because he knew, it wouldn't take much, and he didn't want to give into his selfishness.

“You're not going to change my mind, (f/n). Now, why don't you go take a shower, while I finish packing, then we'll sleep for a few hours and head out.” he held her face in his hands and made her look up at him. He could see how hurt and rejected she felt and it was almost enough to make him rethink his decision. He had to keep telling himself, this was something he had no right to be selfish with. Only she could make that decision. “Hey, don't look at me like that. Please. You have no idea how much I want you right now and how difficult it is for me stop.”

“Then don't stop.” he was regretting focusing on her eyes, the way they were practically pleading with him to continue.

“Please don't say that.” he breathed out, no real sound to his words.

“Bucky, I want,”

“(f/n), please, don't ask me to. I want it to be special for you and if you tell me not to stop, I'm not going to be able to. Please, go hop in the shower, so I can finish packing.” Doing her best to hold back the tears, she nodded, and Bucky helped her off the bed. He knew there was no way he would be able to hide the bulge in his pants, so he didn't even try. He almost couldn't stop the giggle that threatened to pass through his lips when he saw her eyes almost bug out of her head.

“Yea, that's what you do to me. Now go, hop in the shower, before I change my mind.” he smirked, turning her around and giving her a gentle shove towards the door. The brief look of fear and panic on her face when she saw the sizable bulge in his pants, was enough to reaffirm his belief that he was making the right decision not to continue.

Once she was out of the room and he heard her making her way to the upstairs bathroom, he went back to packing her bag, regretting not packing her undergarments before she woke up. He now wondered what the pair she would be changing into would look like? He bit his lip to redirect his thoughts and quickly grabbed a handful of underwear and threw it in the bag so he could move on to packing a few other things for her, then packing the more necessary supplies.

 

He had finished packing everything before she was done with her shower, so he decided to take one himself. When he was finished, he walked back into her bedroom, wearing a clean pair of sweats and a black t-shirt, he was surprised to see her sitting on the side of the bed furthest from the door, reading a book.

“Are you claiming your bed back, for tonight?” he hoped his tone came off as teasing and not hurt. If she was reclaiming her room, where did she want him to sleep?

“I figured we should stay in the same room, just in case something happens, that way we're together and hopefully it'll be easier to leave, since we don't have to find each other. I mean, unless you think it's a bad i....”

“No!” he cringed when (f/n) jumped, realizing he answered a little to quickly and louder than he had intended. “No, that's actually a good idea. Play it safe.” he said, making his way to the side of the bed closest to him. “What are you reading?” He asked as he pulled back the blankets and sat next to her.

“I grabbed it for you.” She said, closing the book and handing it to him, giving him that shy smile she would give when she was unsure of her actions. He smiled back as he grabbed the book, turning it over, so he could read the title.

“Captain America and the Howling Commandos, by Margaret Carter.”

“Yea, it' my favorite out of all of them, since it's written by Peggy, herself.”

“Really? And what does Miss Carter have to say about me?” He smiled, flipping to the index looking for a chapter that might have his name on it.

“Um, you may want to wait to read that chapter, but, you really should read the way she describes you. I guess she got together with a bunch of old acquaintances.” (f/n) giggled, emphasizing the word, remembering how Peggy wrote it.

Bucky groaned, tilting his head back and hitting the wall a little harder than he meant to, wishing she hadn't emphasized 'acquaintances' in that such a suggestive way.

“I'm guessing that means you know what I'm talking about.” she giggled again, grabbing the book, so she could find the description.

“I can only imagine.” He sighed, crinkling his nose, tying not to think to hard on how big of a fool he could have been made out to be.

“It's actually not that bad, here, it's this part, right here.” (f/n) said, holding the book open and pointing to a specific paragraph. He cocked his eyebrow and looked to where she was pointing.

“I don't know.......” He said, hesitantly reaching for the book.

“Just read it. Like I said, it's my favorite Bucky description.” She looked at him, eagerly waiting for him to read.

He gave her a look of uncertainty, she just gave him an encouraging smile in return and pointed back to the book. Bucky sighed and rolled his eyes, before he started reading.

“Out loud, please.” she said, turning so she was facing him, crisscrossing her legs in front of her, eager for him read it. Her eagerness to hear him read the paragraph actually made him want to read it out loud to her, much to his surprise.

“The first time I ever met James Buchanan Barnes, best known to those closest to him as Bucky, he was handsome, charismatic, suave and dashing. Of course, I didn't see any of that, I had my eyes on someone completely different. That is how most other women who had the pleasure of making is acquaintance, described him, even a few of his fellow Commandos said much of the same. It wasn't proper for women to speak this way at the time, of course, but later, when I was asking for those who had met him and gotten to know him a little more 'personally',” Bucky looked at her, eyebrows raised, asking if he really needed to go on.

“Just read it!” She was covering her mouth, trying to keep her giggles from overflowing. He didn't understand why she was finding this so funny, but she had such an infectious giggle, all he wanted to do was keep reading, just so she wouldn't stop. He couldn't help but smile as he continued to read.

“to get in touch with me, so I could paint a broader picture of him. Much to my surprise, a fairly sizable amount of women had reached out. I arranged a group meeting with all of them, so we could all discuss Bucky together. It was quite an entertaining meeting, I learned more about the man, than I ever wanted to know. The one thing each and every one of them agreed on was how to describe him, They all described him as a 'Panty Dropper'.” That's when (f/n) couldn't contain herself any longer, and burst out laughing, falling onto her side while holding her stomach. She would look at him, see the incredulous look on his face and laugh even harder. Bucky couldn't help but smile as she began to cry, and she would only laugh even harder the more she tried to stop. He was soon laughing right along with her, not because of the way these women had described him, but because her laugh was so contagious, he didn't wanted her to stop.

“Come on, it's not that funny.” he said, between her fits of laughter.

“Yes.......... it is!!.................... You..................... a panty dropper!!” Bucky didn't think it was possible, but she had somehow, managed to make herself laugh even harder, she was now laughing so hard, no sound was coming out. Wanting to keep her laughing, he decided to continue with the paragraph while doing his best impression of a feminine British accent.

 

“He'd had such a way with words, and was always the perfect gentleman. They told me he could charm the panties off the strictest and most chaste Nuns.” he paused to see that (f/n) was, literally, rolling with laughter, he barley took notice of the fact that, she was only wearing a long nightshirt, which was riding up as she rolled from side to side, and exposing her thick thighs to him.

“They said, that he was so suave and charming, he made you believe the act of sex was your idea, not his. As we talked about him, I was glad I didn't know that part of him. The man I knew was much more dignified and respectable than that.” He gave you a quick look as your laughter slowly began to subside, looking up at him, wiping the tears from her eyes, panting as she tried to catch her breath and quiet down so she could hear him read the rest. “He was the man you would always see standing at Captain America's side, following wherever his friend led him, no matter the risk or danger. They were a force to be reckoned with on the battle field. Bucky's sharp shooting was second to none, the other Commandos were convinced he had the devil on his side when it came to eliminating his targets. They said there was no other way he could possibly claim so many successes. The day he fell, was a devastating.............” (f/n) gently put her hand on the page he was reading, blocking his view of the words, and gently pulled it away from him. She didn't want him to read that part, he'd experienced it first hand and didn't need to be reminded.

“I don't know what it is about the way she describes you, but I always liked her description of you the best.” she said, adjusting her nightshirt a she sat up straight, her legs once again crisscrossed in front of her, closing the book as she set it in her lap. Feeling how the mood was shifting, Bucky wanted to keep her smiling. So, doing his best to channel is inner “panty dropper”, as Peggy had so eloquently described him, he smirked at the woman sitting in front of him, and leaned forward,

“It's because all those women called me a 'panty dropper', isn't it?” his smirk only growing as (f/n), once again, tried to cover her giggles with her hand. “Oh, I see what it is. It's not the description, so much as the phrase.”

“No!” she practically yelled, still trying to keep her giggles in check.

“So, you're saying that if I say panty dropper, you won't have a giggle fit?” He asked, smiling even more as she was practically holding her breath to stop herself, shaking her head vigorously, trying to deny the accusation.

“James Barnes is a panty dropper.” he teased, the strangest sound making it's way out of her lips, hands and nose, she pressed her hands even tighter against her mouth and inhaled deeply, only to hold it again. The grin on Bucky's face quickly turned mischievous, as her eyes got wide and she shook her head, begging him not to say it again.

“Perhaps I should get a hold of Miss Margaret Carter and ask her, as a gentleman, of course, to issue a statement that says, 'Bucky Barnes isn't a panty dropper'.” he laughed as (f/n) couldn't contain her laughter any longer. Her hands flew from her mouth and she doubled over, her laughing fit just as intense as the previous one. It took a several minutes for her to calm down enough to say something to him.

“Don't you dare! You'd probably give that poor woman a heart attack!” She was pulling herself back up into a sitting position.

“What, are you afraid I might put those 'panty dropper' moves on her.” he said with a wink, and she lost it again, this time, though, she wasn't laughing nearly as hard. Bucky didn't like that, he wanted to see her cry from laughing too hard. Wanted to see her rolling on the bed, her laughter being spurred on just by looking at him.

“You know, if you keep laughing and doubting me,” he said, positioning himself so he was on his hands and knees, and could get his face even closer to hers. He dropped the tone of his voice a few octaves to make it deeper, before making eye contact and saying, “I just might have to change my mind and use those panty dropper moves on you.”

(F/n)'s breath hitched, seeing his desire reflected in his eyes, as he brought his face closer to hers, she instinctively leaned back, which only encouraged him to continue his advancement. She didn't realize just how far she had leaned back, until she lost her balance and let out a squeak as she fell back. Bucky tried to grab her hands, to prevent her from falling, but missed and held her by her legs instead, which were now extended underneath him. She tumbled back, her head missing the floor and her arms, dangling below her.

“Are you ok?” Bucky asked as he looked over the edge of the bed at her, trying to stifle his laughter after watching her flail backwards and practically fall off the bed.

“Yea, just a little embarrassed.” she said, her hands now covering her face.

Bucky sat back on his haunches and was now noticing how her nightshirt was resting just above her stomach, exposing more of her than he needed to see. He sat there, staring at her soft skin for a few seconds to long, not realizing she had been calling his name, until one of her hands gripped the edge of the mattress.

“A little help, please.” she said, holding her other hand out for him to grab so he could pull her back up into a more dignified position.

“Yea, sorry.” he said, reaching over and grabbing both her hands and pulling her back up.

“Thanks.” she said, her face beet red as she readjusted her nightshirt and pulled it down to properly cover herself.

Bucky coughed to clear his throat as he got up and walked over to the light switch, turning it off.

“We should probably try to get in a few hours of sleep before we leave. I've got our bags all packed, so as soon as we get up, we can head out.” he said, making his way back to the bed and laying down under the blankets, as (f/n) had already covered herself and was now trying to adjust the pillows to get comfortable.

“Do you know where we're going?” she asked, laying her head on the pillows and looking at him.

Bucky rolled over in her direction to look at her, her form barely illuminated by the thin rays of moonlight streaming through the curtains. He wanted more than anything to pull her towards him and hold her while they slept. Though, what he really wanted, was to do all the lecherous acts that were currently running through his mind, still, he would he just as happy holding her in his arms. He thought of that as the 'calm before the storm', so to speak. Not knowing where they would sleep next, when their next hot meal, or any meal, for that matter, would be, when they would sleep in a bed, have a hot shower, or even share a laugh together again. He couldn't bring himself to say any of this to her, so he just settled for a simple, one word answer.

“No.”

There were several minutes of silence before the mattress shifted under her movements.

“Bucky.......” her voice was barely above a whisper, as she inched herself so she was almost pressed up against him, wrapping one arm around his torso, as she nervously chewed on one of her fingernails.

“Lift your head.” he said, positioning his flesh arm to allow her to use it as a pillow, which allowed him to wrap it around her shoulder blades and pull her even closer. He ran his metallic hand through the hair on her temple, trying to calm her nerves. “What's bothering you, (f/n)?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for any spelling or grammatical errors, there may have been. I did a quick edit, mostly because I struggled to keep this in 3rd person, I kept wanting to write in 2nd person. So please, if you see any errors like this, let me now. It's entirely possible that I have missed some.
> 
> I'm still going to go back and do a proper edit, eventually, so until I get around to it, if you see anything, please let me know!! Thanks so much!!


	7. The First Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I won't lie, this chapter is pure smut! Ok, there's a good amount of fluff in there too.
> 
> If you're not into reading smut, just read to the *** and you can pick up after ***, that way, you don't miss some of the dialog.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wanted to post this before Christmas, so you all could enjoy some fluff and smut!!

There were several minutes of silence before the mattress shifted under her movements.

“Bucky.......” her voice was barely above a whisper as she inched herself so she was almost pressed up against him, wrapping one arm around his torso, as she nervously chewed one of her fingernails.

“Lift your head.” he said, positioning his flesh arm, to allow her to use it as a pillow, which allowed him to wrap it around her shoulder blades and pull her even closer. He ran his metallic hand through the hair on her temple, trying to calm her nerves. “What's bothering you, (f/n)?”

 

He not only heard, but felt her take a couple deep breaths before looking up at him. He looked back down, not sure if she could see it or not, he gave her a soft, reassuring smile.

He heard her open and close her mouth a few times, figuring she just was trying to muster up the courage to say whatever it was she wanted to say.

“It's ok, you can tell me whatever's bothering you.”

“It's not so much that I'm bothered by something, but,” Bucky couldn't help but wonder what she was so nervous or afraid to say to him.

“Are you afraid then?” he asked. “Because you know I will do everything I can to keep you safe and protected.”

“I know, but that's not it. I mean, I'm afraid, but that's not what I want to say.”

“Then what is it. I promise, I won't be mad or upset about whatever it is.” he said, trying his best to reassure her, so she could tell him what she needed to. She pulled her arm, that was around his torso close to her body, so that she was now able to draw shapes on his chest with her finger. He had to close his eyes to keep himself calm under her ministrations of her.

“Well, it's about......... um........... about earlier........” her tone was so shy and quiet, she sounded almost vulnerable to him.

“About the book?” he asked, hoping the tone of his voice had stayed level. His heart rate quickened, when the hand that had just been drawing circles, was now gripping his shirt and she had buried her face in it as she shook her head no. He could feel the arousal between his legs grow as her warm breath passed through the thin material of his shirt, before hitting his chest. He was relieved his groin was far enough away, so she couldn't feel his growing erection.

“Then what about earlier? Hey, come on,” he said, managing to maintain an unaffected tone, no longer combing his metallic hand through her hair, but instead, lifting her chin so she was forced to look up at him, “I mean it, you can say to me whatever it is about earlier, that you need to.”

He watched her eyes shift between his, switching from one to the other.

“I want you to kiss me.” she paused to take a breath, noticing how his whole body stiffened and he held his breath for a few seconds before allowing himself to exhale.

 

“(f/n), it's not exactly the,” she cut him off before he could finish.

“Bucky, please. Just listen.” again, she paused, giving him the opportunity to either agree or protest.

“All right, I'm listening.” he said with a sigh. If nothing else, he at least owed it to her to listen to what she had to say.

“Thank you.” another pause, her voice soft and gentle, taking a long, slow, deep breath before continuing. “This is possibly, the last night I will ever spend in my own bed, in my own room, in my own home, even. I have no idea where we're going tomorrow, where we'll be sleeping, if it's outside on the ground, in a hotel, or in the backseat of a car. I have to leave behind everything and everyone I've ever known and loved. I can't take anything of mine with me. Everything that I've always thought defines who I am, is going to stay here, I doubt I'll see any of it ever again. All the photos of my family and friends, anything that holds any kind of sentimental value to it, I'm never going to see or hold again. Then, on top of all that, we're trying to stay under the radar of some underground, German, Nazi organization, who may or may not want to experiment on me and potentially kill me. I'm sure there's other unspeakable acts they'd like to do to me, too.” She had to stop and take a breath, she could feel the burn in her eyes from the tears that wanted to fall, her voice starting to crack, just thinking about what atrocious things those men, no doubt, wanted to do to her.

“(f/n).” Bucky's heart sank and he felt sick to his stomach. Not once, had he ever stopped to think about everything she would be forced to give up and leave behind, because of him.

“Wait, I'm not done.”

Bucky tried to hold back the tears, but he couldn't, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her as tightly against his chest as he could.

“I'm so, so sorry. This isn't what I wanted for you, at all.” he said as he buried his face in her hair, trying to muffle his soft sobbing. “God, you must think I'm some kind of monster! I'm no better than the people I'm running from. I know I don't deserve it, but, please, can you ever forgive me!” he pleaded.

“Bucky, you have nothing to apologize for and there's nothing to forgive. You didn't do anything wrong. I would be the monster if I put any kind of blame on you for wanting to escape your captors. I can't say that I wouldn't have done the same if I was in your shoes. But please, let me finish what I wanted to say.”

Bucky pulled his head up and looked at her, allowing her to wipe away his tears, not quite understanding the feeling in his chest when she smiled that dazzling smile up at him, her eyes, still managing to somehow, sparkle in the soft moonlight, despite the fact that her back was to it, but at the same time, the feeling was familiar, warm, happy and safe. When he returned her smile, she took a deep breath, stealing her nerves and continued.

“That's why I want to give myself to you. Tonight. I want it to be somewhere I know, where I'm comfortable, where I feel safe and somewhere that means something to me. But most importantly, I want it to be my choice. I'm leaving everything else behind and it just seems fitting that I leave my virginity behind as well. But it's more than just that, Bucky, I care about you, a lot. Ever since my mutation manifested, I've never allowed myself to be this close to another human being. I've always kept my distance, kept what few friends I allowed myself to have, at arms length, too afraid to let them get close, in case they found out what I was. I even shut my parents out to some degree, afraid they'd reject me and turn me away if they ever found out, or worse, turn me over to mutant registration. You're the first person to ever know what I am. The last few months, living together with you, I'm happier than I've been in a long time. With you here, it made me realize just how lonely I was. I don't want to go back to being lonely. Even if that means I have to leave everything I've ever known behind, I'd do it. I'd do it over and over again, if it meant I got to stay with you. God, this is so embarrassing! I feel like such a fool for allowing myself to be this vulnerable.”

Bucky took the momentary shift in her focus to interrupt her.

“Hey, you're not a fool, and to be completely honest with you, I've been trying to lie to myself about how much I care about you, trying to convince myself that you're a weakness and by staying, I risk letting myself be vulnerable, but I know it's a lie and as hard as I try to convince myself, I just can't. The truth is, I want to stay, I want to do whatever it's gonna take to be with you and keep you safe. I hate myself for staying and exposing you, for putting your life in jeopardy, even knowing all that, I just can't bring myself to leave. You've made me feel like a person again, shown me kindness and compassion and so many other things I haven't seen or felt in a very, very long time. I couldn't leave you behind, even if I wanted to. It's been a long time since I've felt this way about someone.” Needing a moment before he finished what he wanted to say, Bucky inhaled deeply, through his nose, then just as quickly, let it flow right back out.

“(f/n), until I met you, I didn't remember ever being human. I thought I was just an empty shell, meant to be controlled. The only thing I ever felt was hate, anger and emptiness, I didn't remember that there were other feelings. But, when you found me and risked everything to help me, treated me like a regular person, never pushed for answers I couldn't or wasn't willing to give. I know it's only a matter of time before Hydra catches me again. I know they'd use you to hurt me and punish me, then, they'd take you away. All the memories, the experiences and feelings I have for you, they'd take it all and leave me an empty vessel. I love you too much to let them ever do that to you. I'm going to keep you safe for as long as I can, I'm going to find somewhere to hide us, somewhere far enough away, that they'd never be able to hurt you or take you away from me.” Just thinking about Hydra capturing them scared Bucky more than he wanted (f/n) to know, so to hide his fear, he again, pulled her close, embracing her as tight as he could.

“Oh, Bucky.” she gasped as he practically forced the air out of her lungs. He was holding her so tight, her arms were now pinned between them. “Bucky, can't breath.” she barely managed to croak out.

“Shit, sorry!” He said, loosening his grip around her, just enough so she could look at him and he, her.

“I never thought, in a million years, I would ever hear someone say those three little words to me.” She was grinning from ear to ear, her eyes about to overflow with happy tears. It took Bucky a minute to realize what she was talking about, then it hit him, he'd just confessed his love for her. She could see the slight bit of dread on his face, and if possible, she only smiled bigger. “Bucky, I love you too. I wasn't sure at first, mmmph!” 

Bucky took her by surprise when he smashed his lips against hers. Not caring if he was squeezing her to hard, he held her as tightly as he could, her arms still pinned between them. Bucky's human hand, was now in her hair, holding her head so she couldn't pull away from him. His metal arm was around her waist and his left leg, was now wrapped around hers. Hearing her declaration of love, gave Bucky the overwhelming desire to be as close to her as physically possible. His tongue had entered her mouth and dominated her's quickly, feeling the arousal growing in his groin again, he couldn't stop himself from pressing his erection against her, moaning at the delicious sensation of pleasure it sent shooting through his body. He rolled so she was now pinned beneath him, his legs between hers and his arms still wrapped around her. He pulled them out from under her and used them to lift his upper body off her, allowing him to look down at her. When he pulled away, she was a panting mess, her eyes barely hiding her desire for him. His hips, still slowly grinding against her, only continuing to feed his arousal.

“Are you sure this is what you want? Because if you say yes, I won't be able to stop myself if you change your mind.” He asked, not sure he'd be able to remove himself from her if she did say no.

***

“Bucky, just shut up and make me yours, already.” she groaned, grinding her hips back against his, causing him to bite his lip at the unexpected jolt of pleasure. Once it had passed, he opened his eyes and smiled, what she saw could only be described as voracious. There was a hunger in him that she had never seen before, and even though it frightened her, just a little, it aroused her even more.

“Yes, ma'am” Bucky growled, his lips quickly attaching themselves to her neck, nipping and sucking as his flesh hand quickly made it's way under her shirt to her breasts. He was glad to feel there was nothing between the shirt and her soft flesh, one less thing he would have to rip off her.

Deciding that he needed to feel her delicate skin against his, he sat up and pulled his shirt over his head, tossing it off to the side. (f/n) didn't even have time to register what he was doing before he grabbed the hem of her nightshirt and practically ripped it from her body, she lifted herself off the bed, just enough to allow the material to pass under her with as little resistance as possible. Once it was removed, she fell back onto the mattress, her self conscious nature, making her bring her arms across her to cover her nakedness, but Bucky wasn't going to have any of that. She had willingly given herself to him, and he was going to enjoy everything she had to offer.

Grabbing her wrists and pulling her arms away from her chest, he pinned them on either side of her head.

“If I wanted them covered, I would have left your shirt on.” Bucky's voice was low, gravely and commanding, his tone leaving no room for questions about who was in charge. His carnal instincts taking over and sending a wave of arousal straight to her core, the heat, pooling between her thighs, only fueling the desire and hunger she felt for him.

Satisfied that she wasn't going to cover herself again, Bucky let go of her wrists, his hands hurriedly reconnecting with her soft flesh, so they could continue exploring everything her body has to offer. He brought his lips to her collarbone and began to kiss his way to the middle of her chest, then down between her breasts. He slowly allowed his lips to trail across one of her breasts, before finding her sensitive nipple and fastening his mouth around it. His tongue sucking and flicking, sending shocks of pleasure down into her center. She couldn't stop the lewd noises from escaping her lungs, so she brought her middle finger up to her mouth and held it between her teeth, as her other hand gripped at the sheets beneath her.

Bucky looked up to see what was muffling her obscene mewls. The snarl he emitted, sent a rush of excitement barreling through her. She looked up at him, her eyes begging for him to continue, this only renewed his predatory smirk as he reached up and pulled her hand away from her mouth.

“I want to hear, clearly, every lewd and obscene noise that comes out of you. I catch you trying to muffle them again and I'm gonna have to tie your hands. Do you understand?”

Bucky chuckled when she bit her bottom lip between her teeth, this clearly exciting her. He could see her mulling the question over in her mind, the erection in his sweats hardening even more. Just knowing that she was open to such a possibility, made him want to rip the rest of their clothes off and delve into her heat. He knew he needed to calm down a little, or he wasn't going to last long enough to give her every intense feeling of bliss that she deserved. He decided to make the choice for her.

“I promise, another night when we have more time, I'll tie your hands, but for tonight, all I want you to do, is lay there and enjoy yourself. All I ask in return, is to let me hear you. Can you do that for me?” he asked, his mouth attaching itself to her other nipple, the unexpected sensation forcing her to squeak out her affirmation.

His need and desire to be inside her was starting to become more than he could handle, not wanting to rush things too much, and get her ready for his imminent penetration, he began to kiss his way down her supple belly. Quickly realizing where he was headed, she looked down at him and nervously asked, “Bucky, what are you doing?”

“Shhh, just relax, sweetheart.” He purred, as he continued to kiss his way to her womanhood. “I'm not going to hurt you, it's just another way to make you feel good, while I get you ready for me.” His fingers wrapping around the sides of her panties and gently beginning to pull them down over her thick, creamy thighs. A lascivious growl rumbled through him, when he saw that she was completely bare of any feminine fluff. Allowing him full, unhindered access to her innocent sex. 

“Did you do this for me?” he asked, astonished that she would even consider doing such a thing. Continuing to slide her panties down her silky legs and falling to the floor.

She whimpered a reply of, “mmm-hmm.” Continuing to keep her eyes covered, she felt like her entire body was burning with embarrassment.

“Oh, sweetheart,” his salacious growl inundating her core with a fresh wave of arousal, “you have no idea how good I'm gonna make you feel.”

Delicately, he ran his hands along the inside of her thighs, parting her hips to allow himself to lay between them, he began to kiss his way up her right thigh, more than eager to discover her unique flavor. This was always Bucky's favorite part of foreplay, when he was allowed to experience a woman's delicacy and bring her to orgasm without ever penetrating her.

He watched (f/n)'s reactions as he kissed his way closer and closer to the heart of her femininity, deciding to let his thumb slide across her sensitive bud, letting his lips linger on her velvety skin. He couldn't stop his cocky grin when her hands shot down, grasping at the sheets below her, as a sinful moan passed her lips over the new sensation. Wanting to hear more, he slowly let his thumb rub circles over the delicate bud. The moans and whimpers he was rewarded with, were more than he could ever hope for.

His greed, once again, got the better of him, he couldn't wait any longer, he wanted to sample her, needed to know what she tasted like. He stopped the movement of this thumb, adjusting the placement of his hand to open her labia, exposing the chaste flesh that lies between.

“Don't stare at it, Bucky! God, this is so embarrassing.” she whined, using her left forearm to cover her eyes, making sure she didn't cover hour mouth, like Bucky asked.

“But this is the best part, every woman deserves to be savored and appreciated as the delicacy she truly is, and you, my dear, are the most delicate thing I have ever had the honor to partake of first.” He crooned, taking the opportunity to inhale her intoxicating aroma. He was surprised to find that she smelled almost fruity, there were no other words to describe it, she smelled sweet and wholesome, all the things he could never be.

“Bucky, please.” she whimpered, bringing Bucky's attention back to her face, which was still partially covered by her arm. That predatory smirk returning to his features, he spread her lips further apart, letting the full surface of his tongue run up her unveiled flesh, enclosing her responsive bud with his lips once his tongue had flitted across it, shocking her center, causing her legs to give a small spasm in response. Continuing to watch her squirm and writhe under his attentions, he switched between sucking and flicking as her whimpers quickly grew to moans and soft cries of his name, her gentle breathing quickly turning into heavy panting.

Feeling the sexual euphoria cloud her mind and help release her inhibitions, she slowly let her fingers entwine in his hair, grasping and pulling at his long locks. When she began rolling her hips against his mouth and tongue, his name becoming a prayer from her lips, her breaths getting faster and more sporadic, begging him to go faster, he knew she was close. Sill using his flesh fingers to keeps her folds spread open, he adjusted himself so he lay more on the bed, bringing his metallic hand closer to her inexperienced womanhood, he gently allowed one of his fingers to enter the source of her arousal. Never taking his eyes off her face, he watched her breath hitch, as he slowly and gently began to move his finger in and out of her. Not getting the response he wanted, he added a second finger, this response was a little better, her back arched, and she let out a low moan. Still wanting to hear more from her, he pushed his fingers all the way inside and curled them around her pelvic bone, she held her breath for this new sensation. He began to move his fingers, knowing he was hitting the right spot as her knees rose to her chest, her feet now resting on his shoulders, toes curled as she blurted out, “OH FUCK!”

Now that, was what Bucky was wanting to hear, he wanted to know just how vulgar she could be. He wanted to hear her scream out the dirtiest of obscenities, it was one of the few little kinks he had. The louder a woman got and the more vulgar her swears became, the more turned on he was.

“SHIT BUCKY!”

He couldn't stop his excitement from growing as her breathing got even faster, her cries more high pitched, her toenails digging into his back and his head being squeezed between her luscious thighs. Needless to say, he was a little surprised when he felt her try to push him away with her hands and feet, begging him to stop.

“Bucky,stop. Please stop. Not like this.”

Reluctantly, he removed himself from her sex, pushing himself up onto his hands and knees so he could crawl above her. He gave her a concerned smile, fearful he had done something wrong or scared her. That still didn't stop the feeling of pride that washed over him as he gazed down upon her, her body was covered in a light layer of sweat, face and body flushed, hair a disheveled mess, her bottom lip was swollen from rolling it between her teeth, her eyes were heavy with desire and hunger, even though she had asked him to stop, her body, still squirming and undulating, was screaming at him to give her the release she needed, 

“What's wrong sweetheart? Why did you want me to stop?” He tried to focus on the words that were coming out of her mouth, but seeing her in this state beneath him, it was excruciatingly difficult not to bury his face between her legs and finish her off. Just the thought of her screaming his name as she came all over his face was almost enough to make him cum right on the spot.

“I don't want to finish like that.” She panted, avoiding looking him directly in the eye, her hands fisting and unfisting the blankets beneath her. “Not for my first time,” he couldn't help but smile and give a soft chuckle at her bashfulness. It's wasn't something he was used to seeing from her.

“Stop laughing. It's not funny, it's embarrassing!” knowing what she was wanting, he took the opportunity to slide his sweats and boxers off, letting them fall to the ground, next to her panties.

“I'm not laughing at you, sweetheart, I just can't get over how cute you are when you're being all shy and embarrassed.”

She covered her face with her hands and groaned as she rolled onto her side and tried to curl herself up into a fetal position. She let out an indignant whine when he stopped her and forced her to roll onto her back, pinning her hands on either side of her, so he could see her face again.

“Now, what's wrong, why did you want me to stop?” he asked again, this time, lowering his pelvis so it connected with hers and allowed his hips to rock his aching manhood back and forth against her folds, eliciting a small moan as he brushed against her sensitive bundle of nerves.

“Bucky.” she moaned, her hands reaching up to his shoulders and effectively pulling him down on top of her.

“I'm right here, (f/n). Just tell me what you want and I'll do it.” he had once against placed his lips against her neck, kissing down along her collarbone and up the other side and along her jaw.

“I want you.” She whispered, before he placed a gentle kiss to her lips, and she tangled her fingers in his hair.

“You already have me.” he chuckled, continuing to trail kisses up and down her neck as her hands moved south to paw at his back.

“No. I want more of you” she said as she wrapped her legs around his waist, trying to pull him inside of her.

“Oh, you want me to use that on you?” he snickered, amused that she couldn't directly say what it was she wanted from him.

“Please.” she begged. He loved it when a woman begged, but he loved it even more when (f/n) begged, her voice was so needy and she was so bashful about asking for what she wanted, it was such a huge turn on for him.

“Nu-uh, I want to hear you say it.” he huskily whispered into her ear.

“It's too embarrassing.” she whined, wrapping her arms around his neck as she buried her face into him.

Recognizing that she needed a little more coaxing, he reached between them, thinking he was finally going to give her what she wanted, (f/n) unwrapped her legs from his waist, her feet positioned on the bed, allowing her knees to slightly fall to either side, opening herself up to him even more. He grabbed his throbbing length and giving himself a couple good stokes before allowing his erection to slide between her folds, his head brushing over own little bud, she gasped as the two made contact.

“Bucky.” she whined again.

“Yea, sweetheart?” he asked, continuing to use his tip to tease her.

“Please. I need to.” Bucky gave in to the lecherous smile, hearing how needy her voice was. It was taking every ounce of self control he had not to give in and just thrust into her desirable warmth.

“You gotta be more specific, (f/n). I want to hear exactly what you want.” he groaned as he allowed the tip to glide over the entrance to her core, her heat almost impossible not to give into.

“I want to feel you.” She hoped it was enough for him to give her what she wanted.

“Better.” he said, allowing himself to apply a little more pressure to her opening, her fingernails digging into his back and her needy whimpers, music to his ears.

“I want to feel you......... to.......to feel you....... inside me.” she stuttered, trying her hardest to work through the embarrassment of saying such vulgar things.

“Almost got it.” now she had him panting, as he pushed a little more of his tip inside her. The hiss she made, made him want to sheath himself completely. Bucky moaned as she thrust her hips against him, hoping he'd let go of some of his self control and give her what she wanted. She only succeeding in having him pull out and, once again, began rubbing his tip against her soft button. She couldn't take the teasing anymore.

“Oh, god Bucky! Please! I want to cum! Fuck!” she groaned as he let his tip slide to her entrance and slowly allowed himself to slide into her. Her mind so focused on needing to orgasm, she completely forgot about why she was being shy. “Shit, Bucky! I need you so bad, right now! Please, stop teasing me, and take me like you fucking promised!”

“God, that's what I wanted to hear!” Bucky smashed his lips against hers and let out a throaty groan as he slowly began to push himself completely inside her. When he felt the expected resistance, he broke the kiss and opened his eyes to observe his lover, her brows were creased, and there was a slight look of pain on her face.

“I gotta push past it, sweetheart, just breath. It'll be over quick, I promise” he whispered into her ear, she had one hand entangled in his hair, the other arm over his shoulder and her hand resting between his shoulder blades, her fingernails digging into his skin. He pulled almost all the way out and gave a good, firm, thrust, penetrating her barrier completely, she let out a small cry of pain, as she felt Bucky claim her innocence.

“It's ok, (f/n), the worst is over.” He whispered as he brushed the hair from her face and pressed light kisses up and down her neck. “Just let me know when you're ready.”

“I....... I'm ready.” she replied almost immediately, finally loosening her grip around his neck and letting her hands rest on his shoulders, allowing him to prop himself up with his arms and look down on her.

“Are you sure?” he asked, a little surprised at how quickly she responded.

Rocking her hips back and forth a few times, eliciting a gravely moan from Bucky as he closed his eyes and let his head hang down, enjoying the feeling of being completely wrapped up by her. She gave him a teasing reply, “Yea, I'm sure. Are you?” 

He peaked open an eye to see her giving him a cocky smirk as she continued to move her hips against him.

“Fuck, you feel good!” Bucky pressed his lips to hers in a heated kiss as he pulled out and completely thrust back into her. Repeating the movement at a slow and steady pace, using every ounce of the self control he had left to hold back and give her time to enjoy the movement. His manhood coated in her arousal, allowing each thrust to easily glide through her core, making it all the more difficult for Bucky to maintain his control.

“Faster, Bucky, please.” she whined, giving his organic shoulder a not-so-gentle bite.

“Fuck me!” He hissed, enjoying the twinge of pain elicited by her bite and picking up his pace, just a little. He continued at this steady pace a few more minutes before (f/n) was begging him to go faster and harder. Not able to hold himself back any longer, her pleas and whimpers clouding his mind with a lust-filled haze. He hooked his flesh arm under one of her knees, lifting her leg, allowing him to delve deeper and harder into her core.

“fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck, so close, Bucky! Oh GOOOOOAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!” She screamed as her orgasm hit in a torrent of pleasure. Bucky felt her walls clamp around him, her insides lubricating him. Firmly grabbing her hips, he began to thrust as fast and as hard as he could, desperately wanting his own orgasm to wash over him as he fucked her through hers. At the pace he was going, it didn't take long. (f/n) was still screaming and he could feel her walls continue to quiver around him as his own orgasm hit him harder than any he'd ever experienced before.

Bucky cried out (f/n)'s name, his grip on her hips tightening, as he gave a few more powerful, deep thrusts, before collapsing on top of her. They both lay there in a panting, sweaty mess.

***

“Holy hell!” Bucky said as he tried to catch his breath. Taking a few more minutes before finally steadying his breathing, he lifted himself up onto his forearms and gave a satisfied smile at the woman beneath him.

“I didn't think it was possible for sex to be that amazing. That was intense.” he said, as he leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. She was still panting, trying to catch her own breath as she smiled up at him.

“If I'd have known it could be like that, I might not have waited so long.”

“Just so you know, it's only gonna be that good with me.” he smirked, as he reluctantly pulled himself out and fell beside her, before sitting up and grabbing the blankets that had somehow managed get tangled up at the foot of the bed.

“How do I know you're not just saying that?” She asked, rolling to her side so she could look at him as he pulled the blanket up to her shoulders, untangling it in the process, then throwing it over his legs as he lay back down beside her.

“You're just gonna have to take my word for it.” He replied, rolling onto his side so he was facing her, then wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close.

“I don't know, I think I should play the field a little bit. You know, keep my options open.” she snickered, her hand affectionately caressing his chest.

“Only if I can.” He smiled, closing his eyes. He had never felt this satisfied and content after having sex with a woman before, he could only attribute it to his feeling for the woman currently wrapped in his arms.

“You're right, I don't need to keep my options open. I've got the only man I'll ever need, right in front of me.” she gave a tired smile, before yawning.

“God, I love you!” he said, kissing the top of her forehead.

“Mmmmm, I love you too.” she hummed in response.

“If it wasn't already so late, I'd have my way with you again. Right now.” His lips, once again finding hers as he pressed his revived erection into her hip.

“Oh my god!” she gasped, “I was always told guys were a one-and-done kind of thing!”

“Pretty sure it has something to do with what they did to me. That's reminds me, there's another thing you won't have to worry about with me.” (f/n) didn't even pick up that he was trying to hide the hint of sadness in his voice behind his cocky smile.

“What's that?” she asked.

“I can't get you pregnant.” his heart sank as she pulled away and looked up at him confused.

“What do you mean?”

“Whenever Hydra did whatever it was that they did to me, it made me sterile. So, if we're successful, and manage to stay hidden from them, you can never have a family with me.” he tried to smile, as he did his best to understand the look on her face.

“Oh Bucky, that's horrible! I'm so sorry!” she said, wrapping her arms as tightly around him as she could, her embrace surprising him.

“So, you're......you're not put off by that?” he asked, trying not to get his hopes up, that you actually were ok with him never being able to have kids.

“Of course not!” She looked up, flashing him a reassuring smile. “I mean, if we're being completely honest about kids, becoming a mom scares the crap out of me! The thought that I could pass my mutant gene on to some poor innocent kid, scares the hell out of me. With the way the world sees mutants, I wouldn't even dream of having a kid and risk putting them through that. Not to mention, I had kind of accepted the fact that I was probably going to end up a spinster with fifty million cats. So, trust me, I am totally ok with not having kids. Besides, there's always adoption, there's lots of kids out there who don't have parents.”

Bucky pulled her into his chest, fully embracing her. “Why are you so perfect?” he was so happy, he was on the verge of tears. He had been ready for a full on rejection, so her complete and utter acceptance was entirely unexpected.

“Probably because you're in love.” she said, once she had managed to turn her head to the side, freeing her face from the confines of his chest.

Her response, earning a small chuckle from Bucky. “Yea, you're probably right. But, we should probably try to get some sleep.” he said, glancing at the clock that set on her night stand, “It's pretty late as it is. Now, close your eyes, you should try to get some rest before we have to leave.”

“What about you?” she asked as she tried to stifle her yawn and closed her eyes, finally realizing just how tired she was.

“Don't worry, I'll get some sleep, too, but you need it more than I do.” Bucky couldn't help but smile as she nodded through another yawn. 

It didn't take her long to fall asleep and he knew the instant she did, her breathing slowed down as he felt her body relax in his arms. He wasn't the least bit surprised that it didn't take her long. He watched her a little longer before he too drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

Not a single nightmare for the second night in a row.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 6457 words and it's nothing but smut!  
> I tried to convey as much emotion and tenderness as possible, but, I don't know how successful I was.
> 
> I hope you all enjoy it!


	8. Leaving Everything Behind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After wandering through the forest for most of the day, Bucky quickly realizes, his original plan, isn't going to work. Good thing the help they were wanting, found them, first!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for any errors, I haven't proofed this chapter yet, I was too excited to post it!
> 
> Since I can't, for the life of me, figure out how to have italics in the middle of the story, /text/ means it's a thought.

_“Holy hell!” Bucky said as he tried to catch his breath. Taking a few more minutes before finally steadying his breathing, he lifted himself up onto his forearms and gave a satisfied smile at the woman beneath him._

_“I didn't think it was possible for sex to be that amazing. That was intense.” he said, as he leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. She was still panting, trying to catch her own breath as she smiled up at him._

_“If I'd have known it could be like that, I might not have waited so long.”_

_“Just so you know, it's only gonna be that good with me.” he smirked, as he reluctantly pulled himself out and fell beside her, before sitting up and grabbing the blankets that had somehow managed to get tangled up at the foot of the bed._

_“How do I know your not just saying that?” She asked, rolling to her side so she could look at him as he pulled the blanket up to her shoulders, untangling it in the process, then throwing it over his legs at he lay back down beside her._

_“You're just gonna have to take my word for it.” He replied, rolling onto his side so he was facing her, then wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close._

_“I don't know, I think I should play the field a little bit. You know, keep my options open.” she snickered, her hand affectionately caressing his chest._

_“Only if I can.” He smiled, closing his eyes. He had never felt this satisfied and content after having sex with a woman before, he could only attribute it to his feeling for the woman currently wrapped in his arms._

_“You're right, I don't need to keep my options open. I've got the only man I'll ever need, right in front of me.” she gave a tired smile, before yawning._

_“God, I love you!” he said, kissing the top of her forehead._

_“Mmmmm, I love you too.” she hummed in response._

_“If it wasn't already so late, I'd have my way with you again. Right now.” His lips, once again finding hers as he pressed his revived erection into her hip._

_“Oh my god!” she gasped, “I was always told guys were a one-and-done kind of thing!”_

_“Pretty sure it has something to do with what they did to me. That's reminds me, there's another thing you won't have to worry about with me.” (f/n) didn't even pick up that he was trying to hide the hint of sadness in his voice behind his cocky smile._

_“What's that?” she asked._

_“I can't get you pregnant.” his heart sank as she pulled away and looked up at him confused._

_“What do you mean?”_

_“Whenever Hydra did whatever it was that they did to me, it made me sterile. So, if we're successful, and manage to stay hidden from them, you can never have a family with me.” he tried to smile, as he did his best to understand the look on her face._

_“Oh Bucky, that's horrible! I'm so sorry!” she said, wrapping her arms as tightly around him as she could, her embrace surprising him._

_“So, you're......you're not put off by that?” he asked, trying not to let get his hopes up, that you actually were ok with him never being able to have kids._

_“Of course not!” She looked up, flashing him a reassuring smile. “I mean, if we're being completely honest about kids, becoming a mom scares the crap out of me! The thought that I could pass my mutant gene on to some poor innocent kid, scares hell out of me. With the way the world sees mutants, I wouldn't even dream of having a kid and risk putting them through that. Not to mention, I had kind of accepted the fact that I was probably going to end up a spinster with fifty million cats. So, trust me, I am totally ok with not having kids. Besides, there's always adoption, there's lots of kids out there who don't have parents.”_

_Bucky pulled her into his chest, fully embracing her. “Why are you so perfect?” he was so happy, he was on the verge of tears. He had been ready for a full on rejection, so her complete and utter acceptance was entirely unexpected._

_“Probably because you're in love.” she said, once she had managed to turn her head to the side, freeing her face from the confines of his chest._

_Her response, earning a small chuckle from Bucky. “Yea, you're probably right. But we should probably try to get some sleep.” he said, glancing at the clock that set on her night stand, “It's pretty late as it is. Now, close your eyes, you should try to get some rest before we have to leave.”_

_“What about you?” she asked as she tried to stifle her yawn and closed her eyes, finally realizing just how tired she was._

_“Don't worry, I'll get some sleep, too, but you need it more than I do.” Bucky couldn't help but smile as she nodded through another yawn._

_It didn't take her long to fall asleep and he knew the instant she did, he breathing slowed down as he felt her body relax in his arms. He wasn't the least bit surprised that it didn't take her long. He watched her a little longer before he too drifted off into a dreamless sleep._

_Not a single nightmare for the second night in a row. ___

__

__Bucky didn't get much sleep that night, but then again, he never gets much sleep. He woke up almost two hours after falling asleep and decided to let (f/n) sleep an extra hour before waking her up so they could leave._ _

__“(f/n), hey, sweetheart, it's time to wake up. We have to go now.” He was trying to be gentle but firm. He wished they could stay and sleep in, enjoy a few more days at her home before leaving, but, if they did that, they were just asking to be captured._ _

__“Do we have to?”_ _

__“You know we do.” He said, sitting up and shaking her again, “Come on, we don't have time to dilly dally, we need to go.”_ _

__“All right, I'm up, I'm up.” her voice was heavy with sleep, he wished he could let her sleep more, but she needed to get used to this, needed to get used to being sleep deprived, and he was hit with another wave of guilt. If it wasn't for his selfishness, she wouldn't have to go through any this._ _

__“Stop it.” she said as she got up and headed for her dresser, he wondered if she realized she was still naked._ _

__“What?” He asked, enjoying watching her, his arousal slowly coming back._ _

__“Feeling guilty. It's written all over your face.” she answered, opening and closing various drawers and putting on the various articles of clothing she pulled out._ _

__“I'm not....”_ _

__“Bucky, don't lie. It's written on your face, plain as day. I know you feel guilty and you can just stop. Remember what I told you, I didn't want you to leave and I was determined to convince you one way or another.” She smirked as she pulled her pants up. “And if we're in such a hurry, shouldn't you already be dressed and ready to go?”_ _

__He looked at her, then down at himself, realized that she was right, and got up to throw his clothes from the previous night back on._ _

__“Meow.” Lucky announced his entrance into the room before jumping up on the bed._ _

__(f/n) got a little teary eyed as she sat next to the cat._ _

__“I'm sorry, Lucky, but I have to go and I can't take you with me. You're gonna have to fend for yourself again.” She sniffled, wiping the tears before they could fall._ _

__Lucky walked up to her, his front paws on her lap, and rubbed his head under her chin and she lost it. Her tears began to flow and she held the feline close to her chest._ _

__“You'll be ok Lucky. You survived a long time before me and you'll survive once I'm gone. You're a good mouser and there's tons of mice in the barn for you to eat. I'm really gonna miss you.” She was trying to stop herself from crying, but she only cried harder._ _

__“Come on, we have to go. I'm sure we've already stayed longer than we should have.” Bucky said, gently grabbing her arm and pulling her up. Lucky meowed in protest as he was forced to jump to the floor._ _

__“Wait, I need to take my book.” she said, pulling her arm from Bucky's grip and running to the nightstand to grab her Captain America history book._ _

__“All right, now come on, we seriously have to go!” Bucky urged, trying not to sound too irritated with her staling._ _

__“I know, I'm coming.” She sniffed, shoving the book in the bag Bucky handed her._ _

__“You ready?” He asked, more out of courtesy than anything else._ _

__“As I'll ever be.” she said, giving one last look around her room and following Bucky out of the house, she didn't even notice Lucky following her._ _

__

__The sun had been up for a couple hours before Bucky allowed them to stop for a break and that's when they found out Lucky had been following them. When (f/n) saw him walk up to where she was sitting, she burst into tears and held her cat close, Bucky couldn't help but smile at the attachment that cat had with you._ _

__“Looks like you don't have to worry about him after all.”_ _

__“I'm so happy he followed us! I feel so much better knowing I didn't leave him behind.” she smiled happily as she pet her beloved feline, who purred contently in her lap._ _

__“I'll be honest, I'm glad he followed us too.” Bucky said as he gave the cat a good scratch behind the ears. “All right, just a few more minutes, then we need to get going.”_ _

__“Do you have any idea, where we're headed?” (f/n) asked._ _

__“For now, Canada. I don't recall too may Hydra bases there, we should be safe for a while, use some of the cash your friend gave us to lay low for the winter, then, when the weather changes, we'll have to move on again.”_ _

__“That sounds like a good plan. But, do you think we'll be ok? I mean, winter's coming fast, what are we going to do for a place to stay? I'm assuming you don't plan on staying in a city or town?”_ _

__“I'm still thinking on that one, but don't worry, we'll be fine, I'll make sure of it.” Bucky said, trying to hide the uncertainty in his voice. He didn't want to stay in any town, and there wasn't enough time for them to build a secluded enough place to get them through the winter. He had a few days of traveling to think it over and make a plan._ _

__“You know, we could go to that place Claire suggested. I think it may actually be our best bet, then, when the weather gets better, we can head to Canada or Mexico, or wherever.” (f/n) suggested as she looked at the card she was holding in her hand, Lucky still purring away in her lap._ _

__He didn't like it, but after thinking about it for a minute, she was right, it was their best option. With a heavy sigh, he nodded in agreement._ _

__“All right. But just for the winter, then, when the snow starts to thaw, we'll have to leave. It will give us some time to make a better plan, get some supplies, too.”_ _

__“Then I guess, we need to go to the next town over and call the number, hopefully they'll be able to pick us up. I really don't want to have to walk all the way there.”_ _

__“Neither do I, but it is a possibility. Alright, we better get moving then.” Bucky said as he stood up, then offered her his hand and helped her up, she continued to hold Lucky, who didn't seem to mind being carried for part of the trip. Eventually, (f/n) got tired of carrying him and put him around her neck like a scarf, Lucky was happy to stay there, at least until their next stop._ _

__“Bucky, do you even know where the next town is?” she asked, resting against a tree with her eyes closed._ _

__“Honestly, no, but we'll find it, sooner or later.” He shrugged, sitting across from her, smiling._ _

__“Are you kidding?! I don't want to be lost in........ oh, ha ha, that wasn't very funny.” she deadpanned when she saw the mischievous smirk on his face, throwing a pine cone she had seen next to her, at him._ _

__“Of course I know where it is, I memorized the map before we left.”_ _

__“Why didn't we bring it?”_ _

__“Because, if someone saw us looking at it, they could know where we're going. We should be there sometime tomorrow.”_ _

__“If you say hmmmpff.” Bucky jumped and quickly put his hand over her mouth. Her eyes were wide, startled by his actions, then, seeing the look on his face, she knew he had heard something. (f/n) prayed that it wasn't Hydra._ _

__“As quietly as you can, stand up, and follow me.” he whispered in her ear, she just nodded in response._ _

__He removed his hand from her mouth and stood up, she cautiously followed his lead. He kept turning his head, his eyes closed, he was listening for whatever he had heard earlier. (f/n) began to pull on his sleeve, to get his attention. He tried to ignore her, but the tugging just got harder, then she started patting his shoulder._ _

__“You're making it very difficult for me to concentrate, (f/n).” he said, opening an eye and looking at her. He quickly focused on her when he saw the fear on her face, then spun to look where her attention was focused._ _

__He protectively stood in front of her, not sure what to make of the floating woman in front of them._ _

__“I was sent by a mutual friend, Claire?” she smiled._ _

__“Claire! Is she ok? Did she make it to that school?” (f/n) asked, stepping around Bucky to talk to the floating red head._ _

__“Yes, she's fine, she was a little more than worried about the two of you. When we picked her up this morning, she told us everything that happened. She was worried you wouldn't reach out to us for help, and begged that we reach out to you, instead.”_ _

__“So, this is us reaching.” A shorter man, smoking a cigar said, jumping from out of a tree and landing next to the woman._ _

__“You have a funny way of reaching out.” Bucky growled, pulling (f/n) back to his side, the need to protect her a little overwhelming._ _

__“Have to be a little extra cautious when we've got the infamous Winter Soldier, roaming the woods.”_ _

__“Logan, leave it alone. He's not a threat to us.” The woman sighed, lowering herself so she was now standing on the ground._ _

__“That's not who I am.” Bucky hissed._ _

__“We know, you'll have to forgive Logan, he's not...... a people person. My name is Jean Gray, I'm one of the instructors at the school. The Professor sent us to pick you up, said you were ready to ask for help.” She said, giving a soft smile._ _

__“H-h-how did he know that?” (f/n) stuttered._ _

__“He's a telepath,”_ _

__“Just like Claire!” (f/n) smiled._ _

__“Yes, just like Claire, and myself, though, I also have telekinetic abilities as well.”_ _

__“Wow! That's so awesome! I've never met other mutants before.” You smiled, walking closer to Jean, Bucky reached out for your hand, to stop you from getting to close._ _

__“(f/n), we don't know if we can trust them. They could be Hydra, trying to trick us. You have to learn to not be so trusting.” Bucky whispered as he pulled you back against his chest and glared at the two people standing in front of him._ _

__“Is she your hostage now?” came a voice from behind the pair. Bucky quickly spun around, grabbing the knife he had on his waist, holding it out defensively, in case he needed to attack._ _

__“Really Scott? You're not helping the situation.” Jean groaned._ _

__“Bucky, it's ok.” (f/n) said, gently placing a hand on his shoulder. “They helped Claire, she's a smart kid, if she trusts them, so do I.”_ _

__“I don't like it. They sneak up on us and ask to be trusted, people who don't make themselves known, can't be trusted.” He was starting to panic. There were three of them, at least one with confirmed abilities, the other two possible mutants. He began to think that they were Hydra, creations that he was never informed of, which was all to likely to be the case._ _

__“Bucky, please, calm down. You trust me, right?” You smiled, your hand sliding down his arm and resting on his hand that held the knife. “Well, I trust them. If it turns out we can't trust them, I'll fly us out of there.” She whispered._ _

__Bucky looked at her out of the corner of his eye, then back at the brunette in front of him, named Scott, then quickly around at the other two._ _

__“No, they can't be trusted. They're Hydra. People who want to help, don't sneak up on you.” the panic was really starting to set in, he was sweating, his breathing was heavier and faster and his eyes were more dilated, he was ready to attack. “I'll die before I go back with them, before I let them take you!”_ _

__“Bucky, please, you need to calm down.” (f/n) was starting to get scared, she had never seen Bucky like this before._ _

__“Looks like it's gonna be the hard way.” Logan smirked. (f/n) turned to see claws come out of his knuckles, he too, took an attack stance._ _

__“Please, don't, he's just scared!” she begged the man._ _

__“Logan, stand down, Scott, you too. I'll handle this.” Jean said as she closed her eyes._ _

__The next thing (f/n) knew, Bucky had fallen to the ground, unconscious._ _

__“Bucky!” She yelled, kneeling down next to him to examine him and make sure he was ok._ _

__“He's all right. He's just sleeping.” Jean said, giving (f/n) a gentle smile as she walked over to the pair._ _

__“Why would you do that? If you want him to trust you, that's not the way to do it!” She yelled, turning to yell at the young woman._ _

__“It was the only way he was going to calm down. I could feel the panic and fear radiating off of him, there was nothing you could have said or done to calm him down. I'm sorry.” She said, kneeling down and gently placing a hand on (f/n)'s shoulder._ _

__“We should get going. Get him secured before he wakes up.” Scott said, walking over to stand next to Jean._ _

__“I suppose that means I have to carry him.” Logan huffed, removing the cigar from his mouth._ _

__“You are the strongest.” Scott smirked._ _

__“That's because you spend all your time, focusing on looking pretty, instead of training.” Logan retorted._ _

__“Wait, we can't leave yet, Lucky isn't back._ _

__“Lucky?” Scott asked._ _

__“My cat, he followed us when we left. I think he's out hunting right now.” (f/n) said, giving the trio a nervous smile._ _

__“Can't you call him?” Scott asked._ _

__“No, he kinda just does what he wants.”_ _

__“Well, I'm not waiting around for a cat. He'll just have to fend for himself. Now, let's go, Logan, you can carry him.” Scott smiled, as he walked past Logan, who was kneeling next to Bucky._ _

__“NO! I'm not leaving Lucky behind.” You said, glaring at Scott and stomping your foot, trying to emphasize your point, but only succeeding in looking like a child throwing a temper tantrum._ _

__“Then you stay. Let's go.” Scott said, not even bothering to stop._ _

__“Really? No, we'll stay and wait for the cat, then, we'll all head home. If you don't want to wait, you're welcome to walk back on your own.” Jean gave him a defiant smile as she crossed her arms over her chest._ _

__“Fine. I'll be waiting for you back at the car.” he huffed, before storming off._ _

__“Thank you.” (f/n) sighed, relieved she wasn't going to have to leave Lucky alone in the woods._ _

__“I'm gonna take him back to the car. Don't be too long.” Logan said, hoisting Bucky over his shoulder and following Scott._ _

__“I'm sorry I had to do that to your friend, but I could feel it, he was about to attack Scott.” Jean apologized._ _

__“I believe you, I've just never seen him like that.”_ _

__“He needs a lot of help and even then, I'm not sure if he'll ever be the person he was before Hydra got a hold of him.”_ _

__“Is what they did to him, really that bad?”_ _

__“From the brief glimpse I got, yes. I know the two of you plan on leaving in the spring, but, if you chose to stay, the professor could help him, I know he's not a mutant, but he still deserves a second chance.” Jean smiled, looking in the direction her friends had gone._ _

__“Why did your friend call him the Winter Soldier?” (f/n) asked._ _

__“Because that's who he is to Hydra, when we were looking for the two of you and he heard us, I could hear his thoughts, they were practically screaming at me, he just kept saying he wasn't going to let them turn you into another Winter Solider. Logan knew before anyone, because he's dealt with the Winter Soldier before and he says, you never forget the scent of someone trying to kill you.” Jean gave (f/n) a sad smile and seeing the look of confusion on her face, she elaborated a little more. “Logan has heightened senses, hearing and smells, along with some others. The professor says he has a nose better than any blood hound.” (f/n) just nodded and thought for a minute before speaking._ _

__“You know I found him in my barn. He was all beat up and had been shot in the leg. I had to carry him into my house and patch him up. Well, I guess I didn't have to, but I did it anyway, I'm kind of a sucker for a sob story.” (f/n) gave a small chuckle._ _

__“When I was in his mind, protecting you from Hydra was all he could think about, he clearly cares about you very much.”_ _

__“I care about him to. He was a little scary at first, and I wasn't sure if he was gonna attack me or what, but, after a while, he started to warm up and let his guard down. You know, he's the first person to ever find out I'm a mutant, sure it was by accident, but........”_ _

__“Claire said you have wings, she said they were the most beautiful pair of wings she's ever seen. I look forward to seeing them.” Jean smiled._ _

__“Did she also tell you that my body absorbs them and that's why I look the way I do? When they're out, I look normal, just with wings.” (F/n) chuckled._ _

__“Really! I've never heard of wings doing that before! Would you be willing to show me now?” Jean asked, her curiosity getting the better of her._ _

__“I would, but I'd have to take everything off first. That's part of why it was so embarrassing the first time Bucky saw, because I wasn't prepared, and I was panicking, I wasn't able to keep control of it, and they basically, exploded out of my back, destroying everything I was wearing at the time.” (f/n) couldn't help the blush that crept across her face._ _

__“I can see how that could be a little embarrassing.” Jean giggled.  
The pair continued to talk for the next half hour about the school and the people that live there, before Lucky finally came back. He walked over to (f/n), who was sitting up against a tree, next to Jean, and sat down on her lap as he began to clean himself._ _

__“Well, it's about time the almighty hunter returns. I was starting to think I was gonna have to leave you behind.” she smiled, scratching his head. “We can go now.”_ _

__“Good thing, I can sense the guys getting restless.” Jean said, as she stood up and brushed off her backside, (f/n) doing the same, while she held Lucky._ _

__The pair continued to talk as they walked to the the car, where the others were waiting._ _

__“About time. Jean, can you please calm this kid down, he's having nightmares, and we don't need him waking up in the middle of our drive home.” Logan said, he was leaning up against the car, smoking another cigar._ _

__“He has them every night.” you sighed, sliding into the car, Jean using her telekinetic powers to sit Bucky up and letting him lean against you._ _

__“It's ok, Bucky, I'm right here, you're safe. Nothing bad can get you when I'm around.” (f/n) whispered as she reached out and held Bucky's hand. Before Jean had a chance to calm him down, (f/n)'s voice, clearly already had._ _

__“Cute trick.” Logan smirked, sliding in to the back seat on the other side of Bucky, Jean getting in the front seat, where Scott was already waiting behind the wheel._ _

__“I was going to give you five more minutes, then leave.” He said as he started up the car and began to drive them back to the road._ _

__“You're such a liar.” Jean laughed._ _

__“That the cat?” Logan asked._ _

__“Yea, this is Lucky, he's been with me for quite some time.” (f/n) smiled down at the ball of fur curled up in her lap._ _

__“Never been much of a cat person.” Logan says, trying to hide the growl he knew was there._ _

__“Well, you don't look like a cat person.” She smirked, clearly not hearing the growl, Jean and Scott heard it, and gave each other nervous looks._ _

_What's wrong, Logan?_ Jean asked, choosing to communicate telepathically.

 _That don't smell like a cat._ Logan replied.

_I sensed something off about him when he approached, as well._

_I don't like it._ Logan was watching the cat, very carefully, out of the corner of his eye.

_I don't either, but, she wouldn't leave without him. We'll let the professor decide when we get back._

__The rest of the two hour car ride was filled with idle chit chat, here and there. A whimper from Bucky every now and again, but nothing a squeeze of his hand didn't stop._ _

__“There it is, (f/n), Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters.” Scott smiled, looking back at her in the review mirror._ _

__“It's a lot more impressive during the day.” Jean smiled._ _

__“Wow, that is NOT, what I was expecting.” she smiled, looking out the window at the castle like mansion._ _

__“The professor has informed me that he's arranged for you and Bucky to share a room, I'm assuming you're ok with that.”_ _

__“With the way their smells intermingle, I'm sure she's more than ok.” Logan smirked as Scott pulled up to the front door._ _

__“LOGAN!” Jean chastised, (f/n) just blushed profusely, realizing neither had showered after their intimate encounter the previous night._ _

__“Just saying.” Logan continued to smirk as he lifted Bucky out of the car and began to carry him inside the school._ _

__“I'm sorry about him.” Jean sighed as (f/n) walked up next to her still holding Lucky in her arms._ _

__“Um, thanks.” she said, avoiding looking up at Jean._ _

__“Come on, I'll show you to your room, then, we'll wake Bucky up and get some food in the two of you.”_ _

__“The professor doesn't want to talk to us?”_ _

__“No, but he does want to meet you both, he just doesn't want to overwhelm you, he'll meet up with us after we wake Bucky. Now, come one, I'll show you to your room.” Jean said, placing a hand on (f/n)'s back and guiding her into the mansion._ _

__“Okay.”_ _

__(f/n) didn't have a lot of time to look at everything as they walked through the extensive maze of halls, but before she knew it, they were walking into a room, with Bucky lying on the bed and Logan standing next to the door on the inside of the room._ _

__“It might be best if you lay next to him, Logan and I will be on the other side of the door, to give you two some privacy.”_ _

__“Thank you.” she said, setting Lucky down on the floor and waiting for the duo to leave and close the door, before she climbed on the bed and positioned herself so her head was laying on his chest, his metal arm around her waist, with her holding his flesh hand. She was about to say something to Jean, when Bucky began to stir._ _

__“Hey, Bucky, you ok?” She asked, looking up at him, her brows furrowed with concern._ _

__Bucky looked down at her and frowned, before smiling, closing his eyes and embracing her a little tighter._ _

__“Feel like I was hit with knock out gas.” He grumbled._ _

__“I guess that's a good way to describe it. Good news, though, we made it to that school.” she hummed, returning his embrace._ _

__“School?” he hummed in response._ _

__“The one Claire told us about. We're safe, we don't have to worry about the people who are after us.”_ _

__Bucky's eyes shot open and he bolted upright, almost causing (f/n) to fall off the bed._ _

__“Bucky, calm down, it's ok. We're safe, nothing bad happened. Look, even Lucky is here.” she smiled at the cat who had jumped up on the bed and was now sitting at the foot, grooming himself._ _

__Bucky eyed both very carefully, not sure if he should believe her or not, he examined the way she was looking at him, looking for any tell that would indicate she was lying or hiding something from him. He saw nothing, so he relaxed a little and nodded._ _

__(f/n) released the breath she had been holding, before getting up, walking to he door and opening it._ _

__“Bucky, this is Jean and Logan. We'll get to meet the professor soon.” she smiled._ _

__“Sorry about earlier, we just had to make sure it wasn't a trap and the two of you really did need our help.” Jean said as she walked into the room. Logan leaned up against the door frame and just watched._ _

__“I still don't trust you.” Bucky answered with a glare, then turned it to Logan._ _

__“I understand. If you're hungry, the professor has invited the two of you to join him for dinner.” Jean said, giving them her sweetest smile._ _

__“I know I'm starving! What about you Bucky?” (f/n) asked._ _

__“Yea, alright.” he grumbled, not taking his eyes off the man standing in the door._ _

__“Great! Then if you'll follow me.” Jean smiled and left the room, you quickly following her. Bucky was a little slower, cautions of Logan, his eyes still glaring as he walked past._ _

__“You know, it's kinda hard to be intimidated by a guy, when he smells more like his sweet, little girlfriend than she does.” Logan smirked and walked away from Bucky. Bucky just stood there, dazed by Logan's comment. Once he realized what Logan meant, he couldn't hide the blush or the embarrassment._ _


End file.
